Mischief Managed
by Bonwee
Summary: Nora was normal, no, not normal, she was a troublemaker who knew she was weird. She got a letter. She got a mission. She got a family. Along the way she found friends and her family. The Weasley twins adore her and her rapscallion ways. She's a troublemaker with a heart of gold. Hogwarts is her home. You should all read and review because I love this story and need your feedback.
1. Philosopher's Stone part 1

Book One

The day I got my letter, I was sitting in a tree outside the orphanage reading a book about how to fix cars with household items. The grey owl came swooping in almost knocked me off the branch I was perched on. With a screech and flap of wings, a letter was dropped in my lap. I watched the owl fly away and then opened the thick letter.

Miss Renora Lily Black,

It is my distinct honor to inform you that you are, in fact, a witch! Congratulations! You have been accepted into Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The rest of that page was full of school supplies I would need. I didn't know how I would pay for all this, or even if this was a real school.

One thing I knew for sure was that I was a witch. It was the only way to explain the things that had been happening lately. I'd tied a boy's shoe strings to a chair from across the room. Today was adoption day this month, last month the prospective parents had come in and seen my eyes; one violet, the other dark brown, and called them absolutely unnerving and unsettling. I had glared at the pompous woman and made her fur coat come alive and attack her husband. The other kids thought it was hilarious. The headmistress of the orphanage had sent me to the basement and kept me away from the other children since that day. I continued reading the letter, it went on to talk about how my parents had both been incredibly intelligent. I wish it had added their names. It also mentioned a boy that I would be meeting soon, a boy named Harry Potter who I was supposed to look out for. He and I shared a bond that no one knew of: we had both survived death.

I didn't think that I had ever been cursed. I certainly didn't think that I had survived the "killing curse". The letter supported this claim by telling me about the scar I had always wondered about; the crescent moon scar on my left shoulder blade. I reached for it and brushed my fingers against the soft deformation.

The letter was concluded by telling me that someone would be at the orphanage to collect me on August first. I should have been worried about it being a scam. I should have been worried that I was going to be abducted by sex traffickers. My eleven-year old brain should have been worried and disbelieving about the news I had just received, but I was counting the days.

On the eve of July 31, the headmistress of the orphanage sat me down at the table and looked me sternly in the eyes.

"I've made a lot of sacrifices for you, Renora." I wouldn't dare correct her about my name now. "Like the fact that I am letting a man I've never met adopt you."

"You've never met him?"

"We have corresponded through your new headmaster and he has instructed me that you are to leave with a man name Reubeus Hagrid and that he will be your legal guardian from now on." I nodded. Headmaster Dumbledore had sent me a few letters throughout the summer telling me about my new guardian.

"You are a good girl. I can see how kind you are to everyone, especially the people whom others look over."

"But?"

"But, you also cause mischief, can be a trouble maker, and do not keep a tight enough hold on your tongue." I nodded. "You have a great chance at this new school, you can change your ways. You will have a real family now, my dear, do not mess that up." I looked over at the severe looking woman with her wiry gray hair pulled back into a tight bun, she had true kindness and sincerity in her eyes as she gave me that advice.

"I won't."

The next morning I was up before dawn, pacing in my little room in the basement. I had packed all my things into a beat up suitcase the headmistress had found for me. I made my bed and watched the sun rise through my window. I was so ready to go I drug the suitcase up the stairs and sat in the front room and played the piano. It was how I dealt with things; fear, anger, nerves. In the beginning, the children weren't supposed to play, but after I had been rejected for the first time by a set of prospective parents, I sat down and started playing. The headmistress came in to scold me. I glared at her and she sat down in the chair and listened to me play. After about an hour, I stood up, and walked out of the room. She never bothered me when I needed to play. I played a soft lullaby of my own invention. If sheets of music where sat in front of me, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to play it. I never wrote down my compositions, much to the headmistress's dismay.

She walked in, silently, and sat on the edge of the bench and played with me. When I was done, there was knock at the door.

"That'll be Mr. Hagrid." She walked in, there was a hushed conversation. I stood by my things and waited to meet my new guardian. A hulking man stood before me. His beard and hair were thick and only added to his hugeness.

"Hello, Mr. Hagrid." I said with a smile. He had a kindness in his eyes that let me trust him.

He chortled, "No need to call me 'Mister'. I'm Rubius Hagrid." He was nervous, I held my hand out to shake it but thought better of it. I hugged him, my arms not even really going around half of him.

"I'm Nora, Nora Black, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hagrid." He smiled at me, not even shocked when I looked him in the eyes with my mismatched ones. He picked up my case, it looked small compared to him. We walked out, he had a motorbike with a side car. As he jostled the case into the sidecar, the headmistress hugged me. I looked up at the place I'd lived for eleven years. In the windows, children peeked out, watching me leave. I had made friends, but after my magic manifested itself, I was alienated. I waved and got in the side car. Hagrid put on a pair of goggles and handed me a pair. I pulled them on and looked at him.

"Ready to go?" I nodded. We took off with a shudder and jerk, flying down the road. When we were out of sight of the orphanage, Hagrid told me to hold on. He pressed a button and the bike soared up into the sky. I held onto the sidecar and laughed with delight. We sped through the sky, over towns and fields.

"Can't they see us?" I pointed to the little people on the ground.

"Muggles? They don't see anything," he pointed to another button on the bike. "Invisibility charm."

"Cool." I held up my hands and let the wind rush past me.

This was freedom.

We landed on a street in London. Hagrid pulled my case out and carried it for me.

"You're going to meet Harry. He's been here," he pointed at a tavern sign, 'The Leaky Cauldron'. "Since yesterday, bloody horrible family, had to give the son a pig tail." I looked up at him in alarm. "I shouldn't have said that." He opened the door for me.

"Hagrid!" A boy my age stood up from where he was sitting at a table. He had round glasses and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead that I knew all about. I hugged him, he was shocked.

"Hello Harry, I'm Nora." He readjusted his glasses.

"Hello, you must be the girl Hagrid was telling me about." I glanced up at the scar on his forehead, it looked like the one on my shoulder.

"Well, glad to see you two have been introduced, who wants to go shopping?" Hagrid clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

"How am I supposed to pay for them?" Harry and I said together.

"Gringotts bank of course!"

"But Hagrid," I said, "I don't have any money."

"Well, I may not be a rich man, but I think I have enough to get your school things, I am your guardian now." I smiled at him. He seemed to be proud that he now had to look out for me.

We three went into a large lopsided bank. Where there would normally be tellers, there were dreadful looking creatures with pointed ears and wiry hair. I leaned over to Harry and asked him what they were.

He shrugged, just as surprised as I was. "Hagrid, what are those things?"

"Those are goblins, wicked little devils," Hagrid walked up to one of them and cleared his throat. "Harry Potter needs to make a withdrawal from his vault." The mean looking goblin looked up from his paper.

"Does _Mr. Potter_ have his key?" Hagrid patted around on his coat.

"Here it is, and this is from Dumbledore regarding you-know-what in vault you-know-which." He handed the goblin the letter and we were lead to a door that opened into a massive cavern lined with what looked like roller coaster tracks. The goblin made us pile into a cart and we took off through the cave, guided by the light of a single lantern. We were swooping around and turning upside down. I giggled, I felt like it wasn't the proper time to throw my arms up in the air, it also seemed like a bad idea, considering I could have them cut off. We came to a sudden stop. I, out of instinct, put my hand out to stop Harry from flying forward. We all clambered out of the cart and the goblin opened the vault. Inside was more money then I'd ever seen in my life. Harry's mouth was hanging open.

"Didn't think that your parents would leave you with nothing, did you?" Hagrid said, handing Harry a pouch to put some money in. We were all piled into the cart again and the next vault Hagrid told Harry and I to stay seated. He walked in and grabbed a little parcel. He put the paper wrapped object in his breast pocket. "Are you two ready to go shopping?" We both nodded.

As we walked down Diagon alley, Harry read all the things that we would need. Hagrid pointed out the shops were we could get some of the easier stuff; quills, parchment, robes. He had to do a few errands. He handed me a bag with coins in it.

"Thanks, Hagrid." Harry and I ran off into the shops.

After we had bought the basics; pewter cauldron, feather quills, and parchment, Hagrid met us outside the wand shop, Olivander's. He snapped his fingers.

"There's one thing I forgot to pick up, you two go on in and get your wands." He hustled away down the street. I grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him into the wand shop. There were shelves upon shelves of boxes filled with what I could only imagine were wands of every size and shape.

"Hello there, you two young people here to get your wands?"

We nodded.

"Ladies first, then,"

"I'm Nora Black," I said, shaking the old man's hand.

"Black? That's impossible." He mumbled, holding my hand longer than was normal. He shook his head and dropped my hand. "I think I have one here that will work very well for you." He shuffled around a few boxes and pulled out a few dusty ones. I plucked a plain black wand out and pointed it at the floor. It shot a series of multi-colored flames and I dropped it. "Not that one." He said softly. I put it back in the box and I got the next one, a pale wand with a spiral handle. That one caused the ladders in the shop to slide wildly along their tracks. I dropped that one back in the box hastily. The last wand was a rich red color with rings of gold down the length. I really liked this one and hoped it worked. I gingerly picked it up, nothing happened. I looked up at the wand maker. "Well, give it a wave." Harry prepared himself for an explosion. I waved and a chorus of soft whispers floated through the air, blowing my hair backwards. "Very interesting." I paid him for my wand. He told me it was made from two types of rare wood with a core of thestral hair. I looked at him. He was reluctant to say more. I sat on the dilapidated couch and watched Harry have the same luck I had when I picked my wand. He busted a vase of flowers, and caused the drawers to fly out of a cabinet. Finally Olivander handed him a wand that illuminated where he was standing and blew his hair back.

"Woh," I smiled at him.

"That wand has only one twin in the entire world, the man who gave you that scar owns the other." I looked at Harry. He was shocked. "You will do great things with that wand, Mr. Potter. As did that owner of the other wand they were terrible, but great things." Hagrid knocked on the window.

"Harry! Happy Birthday!" He help up a cage with a snowy white owl in it. We both ran out and admired the bird. "Nora, I didn't know if you wanted a pet to take to Hogwarts." I shook my head.

"No thank you, you've already done so much." I wanted to show him my wand, but there was a commotion down the street. We all looked and saw a pair of red headed twins running out of the book store. They were laughing and I knew they had caused trouble. Purple smoke billowed out of the store, the people running out where all dyed purple. I laughed and the two boys looked at me, stopping in their tracks. I ran up to them.

"How did you do that?" I pointed at the purple people coughing and searching for the boys. They pulled me behind a cart of flowers.

"Why do you want to know?" They said in unison.

"Because it was magnificent." They smiled at each other.

"Are you going to Hogwarts?" I nodded, "We'll tell you when we see you next." They gave each other a wicked smile and continued running down the street. Hagrid called my name and I couldn't help but laugh. I loved pranks. Harry was trying to cover up his laughter. The people looked ridiculous, all powdered with purple. We took our supplies back to The Leaky Cauldron. I kept looking at my wand.

During a lull in the conversation at dinner, I asked Hagrid what he did at Hogwarts.

"Grounds and Game keeper." I nodded. "I also do enjoy raising animals."

"Do you raise Thestrals?" Hagrid dropped his spoon.

"What do you want to know about those for?" I sat my wand on the table.

"It has Threstal hair in it, and the wand maker wouldn't tell me what was special about it."

"It's a kind beast that lives in the dark forest, that's all you need to know." I felt unsettled the less I knew about my wand.

I looked at Harry, "So are you excited about starting at Hogwarts?" He nodded animatedly.

"Oh yeah, I think anywhere is better than back where I lived, my aunt and uncle and cousin are absolutely horrid." I nodded.

"Me too," I saw that there was a piano in the corner. "If you'll excuse me." I looked over at the lonely man sitting at a table in the opposite darkened corner on my way to sit at the instrument. I think Hagrid introduced him as a professor at Hogwarts. "Sir?" He looked up at me, he'd been talking to himself.

"W-w-what do you n-n-need?" I tilted my head a little, a smile on my face.

"I was just wondering if you were okay, you were sitting over here all alone. I'm sure you're welcome to join Hagrid, Harry, and I." He shook his head.

"N-no need, young l-l-lady, I'm waiting on someone to meet me." He readjusted his turban and turned away.

"Okay, if you say so. Have a good night." I walked over to the piano and sat down. There weren't very many people in the room. I started playing an upbeat tune with a bouncing tempo that I tapped my foot with. I hummed nonsense lyrics to go with it. Harry and Hagrid came closer to watch me. A young man in the pub grabbed a guitar and started playing. Others clapped to continue the beat. I laughed and picked up the speed. The people sitting at the bar tapped their tankards to add to the music. Professor Quirrell stood and left. I ended the song with a drawn out chord and the young man playing the guitar smiled.

"You're bloody brilliant, want to play another song?" I looked around, everyone was watching me, my heart thudded in my chest, but it was a good feeling. Harry nodded at me with a smile. Hagrid did the same.

"Thanks, but maybe you should take the lead this time?" The boy smiled, he had slightly crooked teeth and sandy hair.

He started with a mellow speed, he started singing a song about his childhood follies. I interjected with simple chords as to not over power his nice voice. He played quietly while he let me solo, I sang the chorus to myself.

The boy and I kept playing for most of the night, somewhere along the way we gained a girl singer and a boy playing the clarinet. We had people dancing and laughing. I felt good about making people that happy. Hagrid finally told me that Harry and I needed to be getting to bed. I waved at the people who had joined in our music making. The boy smiled at me and bowed, never taking his eyes off mine. It made my heart flutter.

"Let me take you two out on the town," Sawyer said, he was the sandy haired boy with the guitar. Harry looked over at me, my mouth was full of oatmeal. I blushed and swallowed before I said,

"I don't know, we're leaving for school tomorrow." Sawyer was a young wizard who wasn't going to Hogwarts. He went to Muggle School and hung out at Diagon Alley because his parents owned a magical antique store.

"Come on, you'll love it, how many times does someone get to hang out with _the_ Harry Potter." I rolled my eyes, even though I now knew my friend was a huge deal in the magical world.

"Fine, but just for a little bit." There was a ruckus in the upstairs part of the tavern. The two red headed boys from a few weeks ago came running out. One had an apple and the other was holding a scrawny rat. A younger boy ran after them, yelling for them to give him back his rat.

"Great, hurry up and eat," the twins jumped over a table and laughed. I smirked at them when they looked my way.

Harry, Hagrid, and I were all making our way through King's Cross Station. Hedwig cooed softly as I helped Harry get his trolley down the steps. Hagrid just heaved mine up and carried it down to the platform. He handed us our tickets. He said something about getting the special package he'd gotten at Gringotts to Dumbledore. Harry and I read the tickets and looked up, the immense man was gone.

"Platform nine and three quarters?" Harry asked me.

"Maybe we should try nine and ten? Or ask a conductor." We pushed our luggage up to the man in a train uniform.

"Hello, sir, can you help me find platform nine and three quarters?" The man looked funnily at me.

"Think you're being witty, girl?" I shook my head, "Get lost." I turned and saw a flash of bright red heads rush past.

"Packed with Muggles like always." I pulled Harry after the woman who said this, she must be a witch. She had her first son run at the brick pillar between platforms nine and ten. He disappeared when he should have slammed into the wall.

"Excuse me, ma'am, how do I get to platform nine and three-quarters?" Harry asked the kind woman, she smiled.

"First time, dearies?" She looked at both of us, and she wasn't fazed by my eyes. "Don't worry, its Ron's first time, too." I looked at the young boy with the rat from the tavern. The two red headed twins were there, they grinned at me.  
>"Go along Fred," one of the twins cued up to run.<p>

"I'm not Fred, he is! Really woman and you call yourself our mother." He scolded her light heartedly.

"Oh, sorry George, hurry along."

"I'm only kidding; I am Fred." He ran onto the platform. George nudged me and I shook my head, smiling. George ran after his brother. I made sure Harry got through and had time to move out of the way before I ran.

We put our luggage with the other students' making sure we had our robes in our bags to change into on the train.

I smiled at everyone I passed, I would be spending the next seven years with them. Harry and I found an empty place to sit. The train chugged along for a little while, I watched London slip past us. Harry was telling me about his summer, he'd released a python at the zoo. I laughed.

"That's awesome, how'd you do it?"

"I just talked to the snake, it understood what I was saying. My cousin Dudley ran over and started hitting the glass and pressed up against it after he pushed me out of the way. Then poof, the glass was gone, Dudley fell in, the snake came out and the glass was back in place."

"Wow, you're weird." I said jokingly.

"Where'd you learn to play the piano?"

"Where'd you learn to talk to snakes?"

"You first."

"I can just do it, some things just comes naturally to me. I taught myself to read, write, stuff like that. I'm pretty handy to have around actually. But you, snake boy, I think that it's not common for people to be holding conversations with reptiles."

"I just talked to it, normally."

"That's cool." Ron Weasley, the boy with the rat, knocked on the door.

"May I?" He gestured to the empty seat with his rat's cage. "Everywhere else is full."

"Sure!" I grabbed my bag and put it above my seat.

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced, I'm Nora Black, and this is Harry Potter." Ron's eyes grew wide.

"_The _Harry Potter?"

"Yeah," Harry said self-consciously.

"Do you have the… the…" he drew a lightning bolt on his forehead.

"The scar? Yeah." He pushed up his hair with a smile.

"Cool." Ron glanced over at me and then quickly away.

"What?" I asked him.

"Your eyes."

"Oh, yeah, it's called heterochromia, if you're interested. A lot of people think it's freaky."

"It's cool, but weird." I pulled one of my legs up to rest my chin on my knee.

"Are your brothers always troublemakers?"

"Fred and George? Yeah, they are bloody menaces, smart, but neither of them made top boy on account of their discipline record." The sweets trolley rang up outside our door.

"Anything sweet for you three?" Ron held up a mangled ball of sandwich.

"No, I'm good." I gave Harry a very pointed look.

He looked over at the sad red head. I could tell he wasn't from a wealthy family.

"We'll take the lot of it." Ron's head snapped up in disbelief at the handful of gold galleons Harry pulled out of his pocket.

The sweet trolley lady piled candy all around us. I opened a box of jelly beans.

"Better be careful which one's you pick of those." Ron said through a mouth full of licorice.

"Bertie Botts every-flavor beans?"

"There's mint and chocolate, but also ear wax and salmon." I picked one out and tried it and gagged. I opened the window and tossed the offending sweet out.

"Cod." I put the rest of the box of beans into my bag for later. I dug through the mounds of candy. "What are these?" I held up a packet that had chocolate flies in it.

"Just what they say, hexed chocolate flies with different fillings." I opened the bag and quickly grabbed one, closing the bag as to not let any more escape. I popped it in my mouth. It had a nougat center.

"Chocolate frogs?" Harry looked up from the pretty purple box. "It's not a… real frog, is it?"

"Nah, it's just a charm." I watched Harry pull the wire to open the box, inside was a beautiful frog shaped chocolate. It ribbited and jumped out of the box and then jumped once more out the window.

"Sorry Harry, I'll get you another one."

"What a waste, they only have one good hop in them to begin with, but it's the card you want." Harry pulled the card out of the bottom.

"Albus Dumbledore," Harry moved the card, I looked over. It was a really cool 3-D card of a white bearded man. I finally got to put a face with the letters I'd received.

"That's cool," I touched the picture, it was flat. I looked at Ron.

"I have about six of him." I grabbed a chocolate frog and opened it carefully. I caught the frog mid-leap and handed it to Harry.

"Thanks." He bit the frog after it stopped moving. I looked at my card.

"Who's this?" I handed the card with the wild looking man on the front.

"Bloody hell, that's 'Mad-Eye' Moody!"

"If it's that exciting, you can have it. I don't collect cards." The ginger haired boy's eyes grew wide.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Yeah, of course, I don't want it, keep it."

"Thanks, Nora." I smiled.

"I think I need to go change into my robes." I grabbed my bag and went to the loo.

When I came back, Harry and Ron were changed too.

"Harry! Your glasses are fixed!" He smiled.

"Yeah, some girl came around asking if we'd seen a toad, fixed my glasses and told Ron he had dirt on his nose."

"I always miss the good stuff, dangit." Ron was trying to rub the smudge of black off. I licked my thumb and cleaned it.

"That's gross."

"But now you're clean." He grimaced and I sat down next to Harry.

We unloaded from the train and Hagrid was there to greet us. I introduced Ron. A brown haired girl ran up to us,

"I see you took care of the dirt." I raised an eyebrow at her tone. "I'm Hermione Granger." I smiled at her.

"I'm Nora," we were herded to a series of enchanted boats that took off across the water when we sat down. Everything was happening so quickly, it made my head spin.

Harry and I just smiled at each other when we first laid eyes on the place we would both call home. The pack of first years all ran excitedly into the school. A woman in a green dress and hat stepped up.

"I am Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House. In just a moment I will lead you through these doors and you will be sorted into your houses." She nodded to us and left us to chatter excitedly. A round faced boy bumped into me.

"Sorry," he said, searching the ground.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, looking around. Harry and Ron were talking to each other.

"My toad, Trevor, he's about ye big, red-ish brown." He gestured with his hands.

"I'll help you look," he looked at me and I smiled big, like I always do.

We searched around the steps. Professor McGonagall came back and I saw the toad by her feet. I bumped the boy and pointed. He ran up saying, "Trevor!" The professor stopped what she was saying and gave him a withering look as he slunk back to stand with me.

"I'm Nora, by the way," I ran my finger down Trevor's back.

"Neville," he gave me a crooked toothed smile.

I'll always remember that first time I walked into the Great Hall. The candles levitating, the charmed ceiling that looked like the night sky. Too soon I was stopped and told to wait to be sorted by a manky old hat. I had stopped near the end of the table. Someone pulled my robe and I looked at them. The two lanky Weasley twins were grinning at me, both wearing their pointed black hats. I smiled at them.

"… And Mr. Flich has asked me to remind you to stay away from the third floor corridor on the left side unless you wish to die a long and agonizing death. I believe it is time for the sorting to commence." The woman from before held up the hat and unrolled a piece of parchment.

Reading the first name on the list she said, "Renora Black." I felt the twins push me from their seats and I made my way through the crowd. Without hesitation I stepped up to the stool and sat, looking out over the people whose eyes were locked on me. The hat came to life, murmuring in my ear.

"Black… it has been quite a while since I had one of you." I squared my shoulders. "I could put you in Slytherin, you could find out about you family tree…" I shook my head. Hagrid had told me about the four houses at Hogwarts. I wanted to be put into Gryffindor. "Or you could learn about your parents, oh yes, you want that. Decisions, decisions." The hat hmmed and haaaaed.

"Please." I said quietly.

"That's it. GRYPHINDOR!" I looked back at Hagrid, he was grinning like mad. I hopped off the stool and sat next to the twins.

"Welcome to the club, Nora Black." George said with a wink. I was introduced to Percy, Ron and the twins' older brother, a prefect.

"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you." I smiled as I said it.

"Hello," the older boy smiled in spite of himself. I'd been told my smiles were infectious; that's why I smile all the time. I like seeing other people smile. I clapped for everyone who got sorted, but it was a bit quieter when the person was sorted into Slytherin. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all got sorted into Gryffindor. Dumbledore congratulated us and told us to enjoy ourselves. Before my eyes the table filled with every type of food imaginable. I filled my plate with treats I never could have dreamed of and scarfed it down just as fast.

We were dismissed to go to our dormitories after we had finished eating. I stayed close to Harry, but talked to Neville about his toad. We stopped on the steps. The Weasley twins swooped in and laced their arms through mine, escorting me into the common room of the Gryffindor house.

They spoke together, "You're gonna love it here, Nora Black, we'll make sure of that." With a wicked grin the two boys released me and went to talk to their friends. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I looked around at all the pictures and relics lining the walls.

I bumped into a boy who was a few years old than me, "Oh, sorry I hit you." He grinned at me.

"Oh it's fine," the friend he was talking to was called to someone else. "I'm Oliver Wood, most people just call me Wood." I smiled and shook his hand.

"I'm Nora Black, but everyone calls me Nora." I said with a sassy smirk. He laughed.

"Aren't you a little spit fire?" I nodded.

"Sure to raise some hell with us two as friends." The twins were back, leaning on my shoulders.

"Oh boy, Nora, you've fallen in with this lot, whatever will we do with you?" Wood grinned and shook his head.

"Old Wood here is a fifth-year captain of the Quidditch team."

"And these two are the finest beaters this school has seen in years. They're practically human bludgers." I shrugged off the arms of the older boys.

"I really should be unpacking, big day tomorrow." They all wished me a goodnight.

I loved this school already.

The next day, I started classes. Harry, Ron, and I ran in to Professor McGonagall's transfiguration class late.

I sat down in the back next to Neville and sighed because the severe looking woman was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone was already writing down something on their parchment. I groaned, the teacher was in her cat form on her desk. She leapt off and transformed into a human.

"I'm glad to see that you three could join us." She looked at the two boys and then over at me. I shrugged. We had gotten lost on the way to class because the stairs changed when we were halfway down them. I asked Neville what the assignment was and started scratching it out on the paper.

I ran to potions. When I slid into my seat, I was next to a brown haired boy. I smiled, "Hi, I'm Nora." His accent was thick when he spoke,

"Hello, the names Seamus." The professor walked in, slamming the door. He had long black hair to match with his black robes.

"Quiet, students." He went on a long spiel about what we would learn from this class and how it would benefit our lives, I was only half listening. I noticed Professor Snape glare at Harry as he took down some notes.

I don't normally notice people or see what they're trying to hide. Since I got to school I'd been looking for things to notice about people. I noticed the glint of remorse in Snape's eyes when Harry looked up. The more I watched him, the more I saw the deep pain that was inside him. He'd obviously lost someone close to him. It was either that or he was honestly a really big git. I'd tuned out what was going on around me until Seamus jabbed me in the ribs to bring me back.

"Do you know how to make a potion?" He whispered, putting his cauldron in front of him. I did the same. I opened my potions book and sighed. I didn't know how to do this. We were making a potion to heal mild burns. I skimmed over the directions and went about throwing stuff in the caldron. I was not particularly following the directions. I just knew what to do. It is how I've always been, everything came easy to me. Snape came over to scold me when I told him I was done before anyone else was even done gathering supplies. Seamus looked over in shock at me.

"Professor, I think I'm done." Snape looked over at my cauldron, the softly bubbling liquid was the correct shade of sea foam with pieces of the herb suspended throughout.

"Miss Black," he said my name with a hint of distaste. "I-" he looked at Seamus, reaching to keep him from adding too much fire-eater powder to his cauldron.

Neither of us was able to stop him, his potion blew up and splattered all over us two first years. I looked over at Seamus, his hair was plastered straight up and his face was covered in green goo. I failed in trying to hold in my laughter, it just came bubbling out. Seamus looked at me and started laughing, too.

"Clean this up, now." Snape ordered, shaking off some of the goop from his sleeve. I waited until Snape had his back turned and pulled out my wand, winking at my partner. I closed my eyes and waved my wand in small circles. The goo floated up and started spinning in a mini tornado. I guided it back into Seamus's cauldron. His eyes were wide. I pressed a finger against my lips and shook my head.

"Our secret," I smiled at him. He nodded.

"Black, stay after class, I need to have a word with you," Snape said without looking at me.

After class, I waved Harry, Ron, and Seamus goodbye and walked up to where the professor was sitting. "Yes, sir?" I had my bag slung over one arm and messed with a loose thread on my robe sleeve.

"You were raised in a non-magical house, were you not?"

I nodded, "An orphanage, yeah."

"Where did you learn to make potions then?"

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

"Don't lie to me."

"It just comes naturally to me, everything does."

"Really…" he drifted off as he finished the sentence he was writing. "Like thinking you can use magic in my classroom without my knowledge?" I frowned.

"It was quicker than trying to use a rag."

"How did you learn that spell?"

"I didn't learn any spells, professor."

"Stop lying." He said with anger edging into his voice.

"I'm not lying to you!" I dropped my bag with a thud. "I really do just know what to do, is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." His gaze pierced mine.

"You were in love with Harry's mother." I said, shocked at the revelation and the fact I had said it out loud.

"What?!" He slammed his hands down on his table and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that." I backed away from him.

He looked like he was about to kill me, "Get out." I grabbed my bag and ran out of the classroom. I ran into Professor Dumbledore in my haste.

"Sorry!" I tried to get around him before he could see the tears welling up in my eyes.

He grasped my shoulder and I looked up at him, using the sleeve of my robes to dab my eyes. "Walk with me, my dear, I think we need to talk." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. I wiped my nose once more. We walked up to a statue in an alcove. "Sherbet Lemon." The Gryphon spun around and a stair case started to spin upwards. I stepped up and rode the steps to Dumbledore's office. "Why were you crying, Miss Black?" I looked around his amazing office filled with various knick-knacks and artifacts.

"I was sad, when people are sad, they cry." I didn't want to tell him, it was Snape's secret, not mine to tell.

"You saw into his heart, didn't you?" I sat down in a chair. I saw a beautiful red bird ruffle its feathers. I watched it watch me.

"Maybe," I didn't meet his eyes.

"Why are you protecting a man who just yelled at you?"

"Because his heart is broken."

"_Is? _Present tense?" Dumbledore sounded surprised. I stood up and reached to stroke the bird, I made sure that it had given me permission before touching its scarlet feathers.

"Yes." I didn't need to explain my answer to him.

"Why do you think that?"

"Harry has his mother's eyes."

"And?"

"And it reminds Snape every time that he sees Harry that he lost the girl he loved more than anything twice." I smiled as the bird brushed against my face.

"Twice?" I looked over at the elderly headmaster.

"Yeah, once when she married Harry's father, and then again when she was killed by Voldemort."

"You are certainly much more gifted than I had thought."

"Good." I ran my hand over a framed picture, a man with unruly black hair stood with another boy, both wearing Gryffindor uniforms and bright, mischievous smiles. Something in the second boy reminded me of Harry. "Can you tell me about my father?" I knew if I looked at him, my eyes would give away the hope in my heart that I'd be able to learn about my past.

"I will tell you when the time is right. I knew your father, he was a trouble-maker, but a great man. I also know that for a fact he would not want me to tell you about him at this moment." I snapped around.

"Why not?"

"Because his name has become synonymous with 'bad' and 'evil' and 'repugnant', all of these things are not true." I turned back to look at the picture, it was moving like the others in the castle. The two boys were playfully shoving each other and holding a trophy between them.

"Why should I trust you?" I watched his reaction.

"You have no real reason to trust a mad old man like me, but I think you will." His bird soared over to perch on my shoulder.

"So you promise that you will tell me about my father when the time is right?" He solemnly nodded.

"I swear." Dumbledore looked from my face to the large red bird. "His name is Fawkes, by the way, he is a phoenix." The bird jumped off my shoulder and went back to his perch.

"He's beautiful."

"I agree." Dumbledore tapped his fingers on his desk. "I need you to watch out for Harry, there are some who do not rejoice in the fact that he destroyed the Dark Lord eleven years ago."

"I already do that, professor." I made my way along the lines of photographs and portraits.

"I hear you are a proficient pianist."

"I'm okay," I said with a smirk.

"Modesty doesn't become you, Miss Black, never try to be anything you're not, it takes too much effort." I looked at the sorting hat, limp on the shelf.

"What makes you think that I won't just go and look up my family in a book in the library?"

"Because you will find no record of yourself in any book."

My mind was preoccupied as I walked to my next class, Introduction to Flying, from Dumbledore's office. The things he had said weighed heavily on my mind. I wasn't paying much attention as I walked into the Quad to tell the professor where I had been. I saw a set of robes hanging from a wall sconce and the kids were all looking to the sky. Harry came soaring down and held up the Rememberbrall. I ran over with the rest of the students. He held it up in victory. I looked over at Seamus, "What happened?"

"Well Neville's broom went wonky and he dropped the ball. Malfoy over there tossed it and Harry caught it. It was really brilliant." Professor McGonagall came trotting out.

"Potter, come here please." I grabbed the glass orb from him, telling him I was going to give it to Neville. He nodded.

"Thanks." He looked a little scared about going with the Gryffindor House Head. I ran off to the medical wing to see how Neville was doing, he must have been so scared! I heaved open the door and saw the spiky haired professor holding Neville's wrist. The nurse bustled over and waved her wand. I heard a loud crack and Neville whimpered. I hurried over to him.

"Neville! Are you okay?" He looked up at me and nodded quickly.

"Yeah," he blushed. The nurse gave him some potion to drink. The professor looked at me and then her watch.

"Miss Black, I trust you can see that Mr. Longbottom gets where he needs to go safely?" I nodded.

"Yes ma'am." I handed Neville his Rememberall.

"Thanks." I smiled at him.

"It's Harry you ought to thank, he got it from that dreadful Malfoy boy." I stuck my tongue out upon saying his name. "You better drink that," I pointed at the cup of grey liquid. I sniffed it. "It'll make sure the bone heals lickity split." He sipped it and gagged.

"That's disgusting," I took the cup from him and looked around to make sure the nurse was preoccupied. I pulled out my wand and touched it to the rim.

I handed it back to him. He tried a little of it again. "How does it taste now?"

"Like chocolate pudding," he drank a little more, "and bacon." He drained the cup. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic." We both chuckled.

"So you're going to learn how to play Quidditch?" I asked Harry as we walked from the dormitories to breakfast.

"I guess, I'm supposed to meet Wood later to go over the basics."

"May I join you?" I smiled at him.

"I guess, I don't have a problem with it." We were walking to the Great Hall for a late breakfast, it was Saturday. Hagrid wanted me to come down and help him hatch some flobberworms. I wasn't too keen to do so. I also had a potions lesson with Professor Snape this morning.

"Good morning," the Weasley twins swooped in and wrapped their arms around my shoulders, escorting me to the table.

"Good morning." I sat down next to Seamus, he was trying to turn his water into rum. I munched on some toast and watched as he cast his spell.

"Seamus I think that—" but it was too late for me to finish the thought. We were both covered in soot from his combusted glass of water. I snorted and everyone burst out laughing.

"Sorry," the boy said, I shook my head.

"It's fine." I grabbed a napkin and dunked it in my glass. I washed off the black from his face out of habit. At the orphanage, we all took care of each other. I noticed that everyone had stopped talking and was looking at me. "What?" I said, letting my hand drop from the Seamus's face.

"You're cleaning my face for me." He said, eyes wide.

"Ooooh, does that have some weird wizarding significance?" I rolled my eyes. "Do we have to get married now?" I widened my eyes in mock horror.

"No, just peculiar is all." Ron said. I saw Professor Snape walk in, he gestured for me to go with him.

"I have to go, see you later." I grabbed my bag and quickly squashed a fried egg between two pieces of toast and ran to talk to the potions master.

Snape and I had made an arrangement; I was a natural at potions so he would have me help him make all the potions for around the school in exchange for advanced potion lessons every morning that my schedule permitted.

"Good morning, Professor." I said with a smile before I took a big bite of my sandwich.

He grunted in response. We always had a brisk pace as we walked to his class room in the mornings.

"It's a nice day out, isn't it? The weather is still very nice, don't you think?" He was unlocking his door.

"How many times do I have to remind you that I don't engage in mindless chatter?"

"As many times as I try and get you to hold a conversation with me." I said with a smug smirk.

I walked inside and set up my station. I heaved one of the larger cauldrons onto the table. I had to stand on a chair to get it up onto the stand over the flame. I looked over at the teacher.

"What are we going to make today?"

"We are brewing a simple flu remedy for the nurse before it sets in this winter." He handed me the instructions. I skimmed over the steps as I collected the ingredients. I turned up my fire, tossing the herbs and bits and pieces in. I looked over at Snape. He was brewing another potion.

"I wanted to tell you that I'll keep your secret about Lily."

"I expect nothing less." I frowned and stirred my potion.

I was walking with Harry and Wood out to the grassy Quad as they carried the heavy trunk full of Quidditch equipment between them. I sat down and Wood winked at me as he opened the trunk.

"This," Wood picked of a large ball that had divots in it, "is a quaffle, the chasers try to get this past the keeper, me." He put that ball back. Two of the balls were chained down and shaking against the bindings.

"What are those?" Harry asked.

"These nasty things are bludgers." He pressed a button and one of them was released. It flew up into the air. "You'll need this." He handed Harry a stout bat with tape wrapped around the middle. The ball came whizzing back. Harry hit it up through the crossed swords of a stone guard.

"Those look dangerous," I pointed out as Wood got the air knocked out of him when he caught the nasty sphere.

"But Harry doesn't need to worry about them ball. This is the one you, the seeker, needs to worry about." He held up a gold sphere the size of a golf ball. Harry took it and the Snitch sprouted delicate wings. It zipped around, faster than I could have seen.

"I like that ball." Harry said, looking over at me.

"You like it now, but it'll be a lot harder to see during the match."

"Wood, what was your first match like?" I said, dusting of my skirt as I stood up.

"Don't honestly remember, Nora," he shrugged. "Five minutes in I got hit by a bludger, woke up a week later in the hospital wing." He plucked the golden snitch out of the air and put it away.

"Ready to practice, Harry?" The young wizard nodded excitedly.

"I just remembered that I need to go talk to Hagrid. Stay safe Harry! Bye Oliver." I smiled and waved at both of them, running down the hill to Hagrid's hut. Maybe hatching flobberworms wouldn't be that bad…

"You know, I've always enjoyed Halloween." I said to Snape as I helped carve the enchanted pumpkins for the great hall.

"And why is that," the professor said in his nasally voice.

"Because it always feels like people are celebrating my birthday by having a masquerade ball." I mumbled the extended levitation spell over the pumpkin and let it float up to the ceiling.

"Your birthday is today?" I nodded.

"Yeah, or at least it was the day I was dropped off at the orphanage." I said.

"I see." I pulled another pumpkin towards me and started on carving it.

I sat down between the twins at the Halloween feast. Harry and I smiled at each other and I ate a crème filled pumpkin cake. The twins kept bumping into me. At first, I thought it was on accident, but then I watched them and I knew it was on purpose.

"Stop bumping into me." I told them sternly after they knocked my elbow and made the carrot on my fork fall off and splash gravy on me.

"Maybe you should move over by Harry, he seems lonely." I huffed and crawled under the table to the other side.

"They grow up so fast." Fred and George said in a mock sadness as Harry helped me up onto the bench.

I stuck my tongue out at them and resumed eating. "Have you seen Hermione?" I asked Ron and Harry.

They shook their head. "Pavarti Patel said she's in the girls' lavatory, crying, been there all afternoon.

"Why didn't anyone tell me!?" I stood up to run and get her. "What did you two say to her?" I scolded them. Harry looked away, Ron's mouth was full. I glared at both of them and stormed off to the doors which were thrown open wide by professor Quirrell. He ran past me, screaming.

"TROOOOOOOOOLLLL IN THE DUNGEON! Thought you outta know." He collapsed in front of the teacher's table. Everyone stood up and screamed. I ran out. I needed to tell Hermione. She needed a friend.

I ran in and heard her crying. "Hermione!"

"Go away," her voice was coarse from her tears.

"There's a troll in the school, we need to go to the dormitory."

"No," she said stubbornly. I moved over and said softly.

"They're stupid boys." I waited for a response. "They're intimidated by your intellect." I heard a faint scrape. "Maybe you should try to help them instead of chastise them, which might make them like you more." I heard heavy breathing behind me. I turned and gasped.

"What is it?" Hermione went to open the door.

"Get down," the huge troll heaved its club and took out the first few cubicles, turning them to splinters. I hit the ground. Harry and Ron ran in.

"Nora!" Harry yelled. I scampered over to grab Hermione's hand and pulled her out from under the wood on top of her. The troll took a few lumbering steps closer to us. I had a firm hold on Hermione and yanked her over to attempt to hide under the sinks.

The troll raised its club and crushed the sink just as soon as the two of us had scrambled out of the way. I stood up and jumped on the troll's arm, Harry grabbed the other and he was raised up and grabbed onto the head.

"Ron! Help us!" I yelled, he pulled out his wand and shook as he pointed at the club.

"Wengardium Leveosa," and the club was floating above us.

"Good job, Ron!" I cheered as I climbed up the troll's arm. The Weasley boy smiled and then the big stick conked the ugly troll on the head. I grabbed Harry by the robe and pulled him so he wouldn't get crushed by the falling behemoth.

"Thanks," Harry said as I pulled his wand out of the troll's nose with a grimace. I handed it to him and he wiped it off on his robes.

"Any time," I looked over at the doors and saw the professors ran in. I waited for them to scold us.

"What are you four doing?!" I pointed at the troll.

"Why, we're serving the school by defeating this manky old beast." I tapped the brute's arm with my foot to make sure it was out cold. McGonagall glared at me. "I suspect that should win us a few house points."

"They came to get me," Hermione stepped forward, "I'd read about trolls and thought I could take care of it." Harry, Ron, and I all looked over at her in shock. "Without them, I'd be dead."

"I expected more from you, Miss Granger." The house mistress shook her head. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor." We all sighed. "As for you three," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Five points will awarded to Gryffindor for sheer dumb luck." I noticed that professor Snape's leg was bleeding. I met his eyes and he shook his head slightly, as if to tell me not to say anything. I nodded. _

We were sitting at breakfast the next day, it was Harry's first Quidditch match.

"Harry, eat something or else you'll be sick." I pushed the bowl of oatmeal closer to him. He was pushing his eggs and bacon around his plate.

"I'm not hungry." I glared at him and he picked up a piece of toast and nibbled at it.

"Good luck today, Potter." Snape said.

As he limped away, Harry said something about how Snape was the one trying to steal the sorcerer's stone.

"No he isn't," I said, crossing my arms.

"How do you know? He got attacked by Fluffy!" I shook my head.

"He's protecting it, not trying to steal it." He shook his head.

"Potter!" Wood said, hurrying in carrying a long package, it was a broomstick wrapped in paper. We tore it open and Ron gasped.

"That's the Nimbus 2000! The fastest broom on the market." Harry and I looked up at Professor McGonagall and she nodded at us.

I rushed with Harry to get ready for his Quidditch match.

I walked with Harry to the pre-match meeting and waited for them to line up. I hugged Harry, and wished him luck. I looked over at Wood and he smile at me. I kissed him on the cheek quickly. The twins frowned.

"Why are you giving him a kiss?" They barred my way so I couldn't leave the tent.

"For luck… why, you two jealous?"

"No, we just thought that Harry wouldn't appreciate you kissing other guys." I shook my head.

"Whatever, good luck Harry," I ducked under the twin's arms and went to stand with the others to cheer on Harry.

The match was going really well until the bloody seeker of the Slytherin team hit Wood with the bludger.

"Oi!" I yelled, "He can't just do that!" Ron pulled me back from the railing.

"He kind of can, there aren't a lot of rules against it." Slytherin tied the score. I watched Harry as he zipped after the Snitch. His broom went wonky and tried to toss him off a hundred feet above the ground.

"Harry!" I tried to find some way to help him.

Hermione pushed her way past me and went to do something. I followed her. We climbed up to the teachers' box and she went up to where Snape was sitting. I tried to get her to stop before she did something to him, but she had already set his robes on fire. I pulled her back and glared at her.

"He was hexing Harry's broom!"

"No he wasn't!"

We both ran out to see how Harry was doing. He pulled himself back up onto his broom and chased after the snitch once again. He was racing along close to the ground and he couldn't reach the flying prize.

"Go Harry! Get it!" I yelled.

He stood up on his broom and kept flying, he jumped off and rolled. It was quiet and then Harry stood up, I realized that I hadn't been breathing. He held his stomach and looked like he was going to be sick. He spit out the snitch and held it up.

I cheered louder than all the rest for him.

I was lying in bed, watching the hands on the clock tick closer to Christmas. The Weasleys, Harry, and I were the only Gryffindors left in the dormitory. I had gotten them all gifts; I hoped they liked them. I waited anxiously for the morning to arrive.

My first semester here had been magnificent. I made lots of friends. Not all of them were Gryffindor either. I had a few in the other houses, even two or three in Slytherin that weren't all that bad. Snape was still teaching me potions, not really teaching, I just picked up a potion to make and made it with his supervision and the occasional snarky comment. We even had conversations now. We talked about books, and herbs, and plants. He never told me about my father, or his past.

One time, a few days ago, after I had brewed up a particularly complicated batch of long term polyjuice potion for the Ministry of Magic when Snape let it slip that I reminded him so much of Lily. I smiled and he told me to not let it go to my head. I kept on smirking as I ladled the foul smelling liquid into a jar for transport.

I had fallen back asleep when there was a thunderous knock at my door. I bolt up and threw it open. The twins were standing there with their arms full of presents. I looked at the foot of my bed, I had some too! We collapsed onto the floor with our spoils. They had used their brooms to fly up the door and bypass the hexed steps that would turn into a slide if a boy tried to get to the girl's dormitory.

I tore open a tissue covered package; it was a violet colored sweater from Mrs. Weasley.

"Mum made it for you, least you don't have your initial on it." George said as he tore open the box I had given him and he pulled out a package of colored dye pellets, I'd enchanted them to be indelible for a day.

"Honestly, it's like she thinks we forget our names. They're obviously Gred and Feorge." I smiled and pulled it on.

"I love it." I picked up a funny shaped box from Hagrid. It came with a note.

Keep it warm.

Merry Christmas

Ruebeus Hagrid

I opened it carefully, inside was a maroon egg with gold flecks. I picked it up and the boys crawled over to admire it.

"Bloody Hell, do you know what that is?" They said in unison.

"No," I looked at the eager glean in their eyes.

"It's a phoenix egg, really rare, most of them are just caught in the wild and tamed." I watched as the egg shook and then caught fire, burning away the exterior to reveal a tiny chick. Its feathers already drying to show that it was covered in gleaming red down. I stroked its head and it made a happy sound. It nuzzled it against my cheek and I smiled. I sat it back down in its box that had a nest all ready for it. I opened a box of fudge from Hermione. Neville had sent me a moon plant, he was quite the budding herbologist. The twins made me open their present next. I was wary.

"Is it booby trapped?" They shook their heads.

"Just open it!" I tore off the paper and pulled out a box full of little magical tricks and pranks. They'd been getting me into trouble with their antics, but I enjoyed it too much to stop.

"Thanks," I threw my arms around them and hugged them, "This is the best Christmas I've ever had." I looked at my baby bird and looked up, the boys were just looking at me with this funny expression on their faces. It was like they were happy I was happy, but sad that this was the best Christmas I had ever had. I picked up my phoenix chick and announced that we were going to Harry and Ron's room to wish them a Happy Christmas. We burst in and I hugged Harry.

"Happy Christmas!" He smiled. He looked in my box and then furrowed his brow.

"Hagrid give you that?" I smiled and nodded.

"Who else?" We laughed. He showed me the emerald sweater Molly had sent him. I pulled it over his head. "It goes with your eyes. I like it." Percy came in, sweater in his arms, scowl on his face.

"Nora, you should not be in the boys' dormitory." I stood up and smiled.

"It's Christmas, Percy, did you really think I was going to stay in my room by myself?" I tilted my head to the side a little, still grinning. He rolled his eyes and scoffed. I was adorable.

The twins pulled the sweater out of Percy's arms and forced it over his head. We all ran after them to go feast in the great hall.

There was so much food!

I spun around happily. My phoenix squawked and I gave it little bits of turkey that it gobbled up greedily. The teachers were all enjoying themselves. There were wizard crackers placed every few plates and we all went around pulling them open with a bang. In every one of them two or three live white mice popped out along with a confetti of jokes but there were also real things; I got a rainbow ink set, scarlet top hat, emerald colored pocket watch, and Harry gave me a little satchel that he'd gotten. It was purple with little blue sequins.

"Not my style," he said with a grin. I moved my phoenix chick into that so I could free up my hands to carry my new things back to my room.

I went out wandering while the others slept off their food hangovers. Hagrid had given me a cage to keep my bird it and it was sleeping soundly. The blasted thing ate more than I did at the feast! It particularly enjoyed the sweets.

I twirled through the castle, too happy to care that it was a bit colder in the halls than the common room.

"There you are, Miss Black. I was just on my way to see you." The headmaster walked towards me.

"Merry Christmas, professor." He smiled kindly at me.

"I have a present for you and Mr. Potter." He held out two hand mirrors.

"Mirrors? Whatever for, sir?" I asked as I took them.

"Let me show you." He took one from the top and looked in it. "Renora Black." The man's face appeared on my mirror's surface. "See? It's a way to communicate with Harry that isn't through owls."

"Wow, this is amazing, thanks!" I took the mirrors and ran back to the common room. "Harry!" I yelled. Andromeda, the phoenix chick, squawked for me.

"What?" He said, rolling off the couch that he'd been comatose on.

"Here, this is for you." I handed him the plainer looking mirror.

"…thanks?" He said, looking at the mirror.

"Watch this." I ran up to my dormitory. "Harry Potter." The mirror's surface rippled and showed me Harry. "Look at the mirror!"

"Woh! Is that really you talking?" I nodded.

"Yeah! Dumbledore gave them to me, one's for you, the other is for me so we can keep in touch all the time." I slid down the railing on the steps leading back down to the main room.

"These are bloody brilliant." Harry held it up. "I have something to show you." He ran up to his room and brought back a silvery cloak.

I let the material run between my fingers, it was like water. "What is it?"

"An invisibility cloak!" He tossed it around my shoulders and I looked down; my body was gone!

"Cool! Do you know how much trouble we could get it with this?" I laughed and twirled around. I pulled it off and handed it back to him.

"Don't tell anyone," I nodded.

"Of course I wouldn't." I looked at the back of the mirror. Engraved in the handle were the letters _I.E.P. _"Harry, look at these." I showed him the initials. He looked on his.

"Mine has them, too." He pointed out a scripted _S.B_. I ran my fingers over them.

"Do you think that they were a set?"

"I don't know, but they really are cool, aren't they?" I nodded and picked up my Phoenix, her feathers were growing fast! She was already completely covered in deep red with gold tail feathers. She cocked her head to the side and chirped. She used her talons to climb up the arm of my sweater and sit on my shoulder, nuzzling up against my neck. I sat with Harry and we gorged ourselves on sweets and lounged about, listening to Christmas music play on the radio.


	2. Philosopher's Stone part 2

"Miss Black, what have I told you about bringing your pet to class?" Professor Flitwick glowered at me. I shrugged. My almost fully grown bird refused to leave me alone.

"I'm sorry. She doesn't stay. I've tried everything, professor. You have to believe me!" I pulled the bird off my shoulder and put her on the desk. She jumped right back to where she had been perched. He shook his head.

"Next time you set foot in this classroom, there better not be a bird on your person." I nodded and pulled out my book.

Andi, short for Andromeda, wouldn't leave me alone, she followed me where ever I went. I tried putting her in her cage; she opened it. I tried to have Hagrid babysit her; she just ran off. I was at my wit's end. She would crawl into bed with me and one night her tail feathers caught my blanket on fire!

Something about phoenixs' tail feathers has it where they can expel heat from them, sometimes it could burn you or just warm you up on a cold day. Hermione and the Patel girls thought that she was beautiful. The blasted bird never bothered anyone except me. Everyone spoils her by feeding her chocolates all the time, which is bound to have negative effects of her health or growth.

I was sitting in the room of requirement playing the piano. I was alone, Andi had finally learned that I wasn't going to abandon her when I left her in the common room. I had found this room from a hint Dumbledore dropped the other day. He told me that I should try looking for a room I needed.

I was seated at a glass grand piano. I was playing all different songs, some were Muggle songs and others were just songs I composed.

I started singing along with one of the songs, eyes closed, fingers finding their ways to the right keys by themselves. I hit the last chord and opened my eyes.

"Wow." Harry said, impressed. He clapped. I felt my cheeks blush bright red.

"How'd you find me in here?" I stood up.

"I dunno, I was just walking around and this big door just showed up, and I thought 'random door, seems legit, better check it out' and you were in here. You are really good." I rolled my eyes and grabbed my book bag.

"I know, we need to get to class, come on," I took his hand and we ran through the hallways to herbology.

I was sitting down in Hagrid's hut, he had obtained a dragon's egg from a man down at the pub and wanted me to be there to watch it hatch. I was sitting at the table with my feet kicked up and Andi curled in my lap, more like troublesome cat than a magical bird at this point.

I heard a knock at the door, Hagrid rushed over and opened it.

"I'm sorry, I'm in no fit state to entertain today, goodbye." I heard three voices chant that they knew about the sorcerer's stone. He sighed and let the trio in. I smiled at Harry.

"We think that Snape is trying to steal the Sorcerer's stone."

"Steal it?! Snape's one of the people protecting the stone."

"Of course! There must be all manner of things protecting it, enchantments, traps, things like that."

"Forget I said that." There was a loud clanging noise from the fireplace cauldron.

I gently put my bird in a pile of blankets on the couch. There was a cracking noise in the cauldron Hagrid was using to heat up the dragon so it could hatch.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry asked as I moved over to watch it hatch.

"I know what that is! Hagrid how did you get one?" Ron said aghast.

"What is it?" Harry repeated again with more annoyance.

"It's a dragon." I answered.

"I got it off a man down at the pub," the egg cracked open. A small dragon stumbled out, tripping a little on the slippery shards of the eggs. The little beast burped and shot flames out, barely missing me. Andi got up and clicked at it. They sniffed each other, sizing the other up.

"However are you going to take care of it?"

"Taking care of animals is simple, I told the man down at the pub if I could raise a three headed dog-" The dragon turned to Hagrid and made a series of clicking noises, "Oh he knows who his mummy is." He was so excited, I smiled at him and he beamed happiness.

"What's that little rat doing here?" I stood up and pointed at Malfoy, peering in the window. I threw open the door and ran after his pale blond head as he was running to I could only assume tell professor McGonagall that we four had been out of bed. I grabbed the back of his robes just as we reached the woman's office door. She heard the commotion and came out as we tumbled to the ground rolling like two street urchins.

"What are you two doing?" She said, angry.

"Black, Potter, Granger, and that Weasley boy were all down at Hagrid's." I punched him in the arm.

"Miss Black!" I glowered at Draco.

"Sorry." I said, meeting her eyes. "Hagrid was hatching a dragon and wanted us to be there." I hoped that would smooth over the fact we were out of bed after hours.

"Hagrid hatched a dragon?" She was shocked. I smacked my face, it was a secret.

"Professor, you have to understand that we weren't doing anything." I said, she ushered us into her office. I was told to sit in the back while Malfoy told his half of the story, riddled with sneers and unnecessary commentary about my friends. There was the sound of the doors opening at the end of the hall. McGonagall strode quickly out of the room. Malfoy looked over at me and smirked. I made to get up and hit him and he flinched. I sat back down. Harry, Ron, and Hermione came in and I got up to stand with them.

"I'm very disappointed in the four of you." She met all of our eyes. Draco looked over at us and laughed. "Which is why I'm giving you five detention." I smirked at Malfoy and his look of utter shock.

"Professor, I think I must have misheard you. Did you say all _five _of us?" She nodded.

"You too, Mr. Malfoy, were out of bed with the rest of them." He looked aghast. We were dismissed with the instruction to see Mr. Flinch tomorrow night. On our way out I caught McGonagall's eye and she nodded at me with a slight smile.

"So you got yourself detention, huh?" Fred said, jumping over the back of the couch I was sitting on. I looked at him and sighed.

"I thought maybe that Old McGonagall'd let Harry and the others off, but nope."

"It's really not that bad." George followed his brother and landed on the other side of me.

"I didn't think it would, but I have a sinking suspicion that they're going to take Hagrid's dragon from him." I laid my head back and rubbed my eyes.

I felt so bad about letting it slip that Hagrid was hatching a dragon. I should have just made up another lie.

"Heard you punched Malfoy," I nodded at Fred's statement.

"In the arm, nothing to get too worked up about."

"The way he was telling it, you'd think you had broken his entire arm."

"He's a wuss." Harry walked down the steps and I stood up. "Ready to go?" I asked him, he nodded. Ron and Hermione walked over to us.

"And Nora," I looked back over at the twins. They were smiling, "If you could, try and make the rumors true." I rolled my eyes and took Harry's arm.

We met Mr. Flich right outside the Great Hall.

"I remember the days," he grumbled, "back when we used to hang kids up by their thumbs in the dungeon. I do so miss the screaming…" He pushed open the door and we made our way down to Hagrid's hut. I frowned at Hagrid. Dumbledore had sent his dragon off to Romania to be with others of his kind. "You're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?" Hagrid sniffed and checked his cross bow. I glared at Malfoy and he stepped away from me. "Get it together man, you're going into the forest. He has a special task."

"He was just a baby, what if the others don't like him?" Flich shook his head and dropped the heavy lantern into Harry's arms and walked back up to the school.

We all solemnly marched into the dark foreboding forest. We came upon a tree that had a silvery substance on it.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Unicorn blood," Hagrid rubbed some between his fingers. "Found one dead last week, this one is badly injured. We need to find it." Saying we needed to split up, Hagrid took Ron and Hermione.

"Then I get Fang," Malfoy spat. I looked over at him,

"He's a bloody coward, if we're being honest, maybe you two will be great friends." I spat. Harry and I started walking in the direction Hagrid told us. Malfoy trailed behind. I pulled out my wand and used it as a torch. The farther into the woods we got, the less I wanted to be there. I took Harry's hand as we made our way down a tangled mass of roots to a little gully. Malfoy stood at the top and watched us. I turned and saw a cloaked figure drinking from the unicorn we were searching for. I stepped in front of Harry to protect him. He groaned and pressed his fingers to his scar. The figure looked up at us.

"Stay away!" I said loudly, but my voice wavered because I was more than a little afraid.

The thing moved closer to us, swooping up and coming ever nearer. I raised my wand, even though I knew no defensive spells. I heard a thundering of hooves and I turned. A centaur jumped over us, I tackled Harry to keep him from being hit. We sat there and watched the half man half beast scare away the monster. He turned and extended a hand to help me up. "You, young lady, are stupidly brave, you should have just run away when the thing drew near you."

"I'm not into running away from a fight." I said, helping Harry up.

"So much courage in such a young girl…"

"Why was that thing drinking unicorn blood?" I asked. The centaur looked down at me.

"Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even on the cusp of death." I looked at the slain white beast. "But as soon as the blood passes your lips, you will live a half-life."

"What was it?" Harry asked, rubbing his scar.

"There are many things in these woods who have no real explanation. I suspect you know what lies hidden inside Hogwarts s we speak?"

"The sorcerer's stone."

"You should take care, Harry Potter, when The Dark Lord fell, there were more than a few beasts in these woods who wanted to see you dead."

I saw Hagrid run over with the others. "Good evening, Firenze, see you've met our young Mr. Potter and Ms. Black." The centaur ducked low.

"This is where I leave you, you are safe now, Harry Potter." The half-man half-horse looked at me. "I have a sneaking suspicion that I will see you again." I shrugged with an unintentional mischievous smirk.

"You can't be serious, you are not going to go get the sorcerer's stone." I said in a hushed tone. I hoped my fiery determination in my eyes conveyed the proper level of anger at Harry's plan. "I forbid it." He shook his head.

"Well, we are going to get it before Snape does."

"You're crazy, I told you, and it's not Snape." We were supposed to be studying for our end of the year exams. Harry and I were sitting in the Great Hall with our books and papers strewn about us. Andi was scampering around under the table looking for mice to play with. Honestly, the bird was spoiled and acted like a lap cat.

"How do you know?" Harry said, defensive.

"Why wouldn't he have stolen it sooner?"

"Because Dumbledore's here."

"So then it's safe."

"For now, but I'm going to get it, one way or another." I shook my head and the twins moved in beside me. The kept passing me notes about how hard the tests are and how they almost didn't make it out alive. I just looked over at them each time they passed a piece to me with a vacant stare.

They didn't like the lack of rise they were getting out of me and after a while they just pointed out the mistakes in my transfiguration homework for me to fix.

I was staying up late in Snape's office. Final exams were over and he had given me an advanced potions book to look at.

"Wouldn't this work better if I crushed the beetle, instead of trying to cut it?" I held up the slippery little bug and Snape nodded, watching my movements.

I used the side of my blade to crush all the goo out and pour it into my simmering cauldron.

"Can you hand me the dragon liver, please?" I asked, pointing to a jar above his head. He waved his wand. The liver floated casually down onto my cutting board. I carved off a chunk and Snape returned it to its potion bath to preserve it for later. I thoughtfully sliced it up into thin strips. "Harry thinks you're going to steal the Sorcerer's stone."

"That would explain why those three were acting so strange today."

"What?"

"Never mind, your potion is burning." I finished up and realized that it was really late.

"I need to go to bed, goodnight professor." I put my book in my bag and trudged up the steps with my wand as a flashlight. The paintings on the walls complained about the light so I lowered it and kept moving quickly. I had to wake up the fat lady to tell her the password. I walked into the common room and tripped over something on the floor. I sat up and saw that Neville had been petrified.

"Harry!" I said in an angry whisper. "One second, Neville, I'll fix you." I grappled for my wand on the floor and waved it, freeing Neville from his paralysis.

"Thanks, Nora."

"Any time, just go to bed now Neville," he nodded dumbly and I ran back out of the tower. It was quite the trek back down to the dungeons. I threw open the door, "Professor! They're gone to get the stone!" Snape's head snapped up and I nodded. He quickly walked over to me and grabbed my shoulder.

"We must get them." He took us back up to the third floor corridor. Fluffy was waiting for us. Snape stunned the dog and we jumped down the dark tunnel. We landed in a piled of thick black coils that snaked around my body. I tensed up.

"Snape, what's going on!?"

"Relax, it'll let your body go." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I dropped onto the stone floor beneath. Snape landed on his feet and helped me up.

We went into the next chamber, hundreds of keys flew lazily through the air. Snape waved his wand and a single key fell to floor. He used this rusty key to unlock the door.

"Hermione! Ron!" I ran over to the two kids. Ron needed some medical attention. "Where's Harry!?" I said nervously.

"He went on ahead." Hermione pointed at the next door.

"Professor, take care of them," a look of shock came over his face.

"Miss Black, I—" I was already running through the door and down the flight of stairs. I was met with a wall of dying flames. Harry was unconscious. I doused the flames with water I conjured and kneeled down next to my friend.

"Harry, wake up, you have to wake up Harry." My heart thundered in my chest; I had failed Dumbledore. I had failed to protect Harry. I had failed Harry. I stroked his hair off his forehead and shook him. I saw a beautiful big red gem by his hand; the Sorcerer's stone. I reached for it and put it in my pocket. Harry murmured. I hugged him. Snape came barreling down the steps and I handed him the stone out of my pocket. He stashed it away and picked up Harry.

We all made our way out of the maze and to the hospital wing.

I was sleeping in a chair next to Harry's bed, he still hadn't woken up fully yet. I heard footsteps and opened my bleary eyes.

"Professor?" I asked Dumbledore.

"I see you're still here, Miss Black." I yawned and looked at Harry. He stirred and opened his eyes. I squeezed his hand and smiled.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepyhead." Dumbledore chuckled at my greeting and picked up a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

"Professor, what happened to the stone?" Harry asked as I handed him his glasses.

"It has been destroyed."

"What about Mr. Flamel?" I asked.

"He has enough potion to last him until his affairs are in order." Harry looked like he had something else to say. "What happened down in the dungeons with you and Professor Quirrell was a secret, so obviously the entire school knows." I furrowed my brow. I still had not heard the entire story of what happened down there.

"Why… Why couldn't I touch him, sir?"

"You're mother loved you very much. When she cast herself between you two the night you got your scar, she created a protection that would keep Voldemort from touching you."

"Wow, so Voldemort was Professor Quirrell?" I looked away and smiled, "Maybe Fred, George, and I shouldn't have enchanted those snow balls to hit him in the back of the head then."

"It is a little more complicated than that, Miss Black, but it doesn't surprise me that you and the Weasley twins hit Voldemort with snow balls." Dumbledore chuckled softly and looked through the jelly beans. "I once had a very bad experience with Bertie Botts when I was younger."

"Oh really?" I said.

"Yes, I had the unfortunate luck of eating a vomit flavored one." I grimaced. "But I suppose that a nice toffee wouldn't hurt." He popped a light brown bean into his mouth and chewed. Harry and I watched him. "Alas, ear wax." He smiled at us both and told me that I could sleep in one of the beds since they weren't filled. Harry and I laughed and he told me all about how he had defeated, for now, the Dark Lord for the second time.

I was standing on the train platform with Andi on my shoulder, she was still smaller than Fawkes, but she was a great deal younger, too. I ran up to Neville and hugged him, slipping Trevor the toad into his jacket pocket.

"Promise me you'll write to me this summer?" I said with a smile tinged with sadness.

"Of course!" He smiled and hurried onto the train. Seamus ran up to me and quickly hugged me.

"See you next year?" He said with a self-conscious grin. I nodded.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easy." He nodded and went to get in line with Dean. I saw Harry with his two best friends. He waved at me and made his way to me. I hugged him tightly. "You better stay out of trouble, Harry James Potter." I said with a stern look.

"I have the mirror so we'll stay in touch, no worries, Nora." I hugged him again. Hagrid lumbered over and Harry hugged him.

"See you guys." I waved to Hermione and Ron. Just before the train was supposed to pull out of the station the twins ran to me and hugged me together.

"Don't get into too much trouble without us, Nora Black." I kissed each of their cheeks and could have sworn they blushed a little.

"Get your butts on the train or I'll be stuck with you all summer." They jumped onto the train and waved to me as it left the station.

It was sad to watch all my friends pull away. Hagrid put his hand on my shoulder. The weight of which made my knees buckle a little. Andi crawled from my shoulder to Hagrid's.

"So Nora, what do you want to do now?" The train was almost out of sight.

I looked up at the ragged looking half-giant. "Hagrid, I want to have fun." I walked with Hagrid back to his hut as he told me all about the beasts that lived on the school's grounds.

I put my hands in the pockets of my jacket and found a folded paper. I opened it and kept unfolding all the little extra pieces and it was completely blank.


	3. Chamber of Secrets part 1

I was running through the secret passages of Hogwarts. Peeves was cackling along with me as we ran from Flich and Mrs. Norris. I had slipped some squawking screechers under the door to his room and they had both woken up with hisses and yelps.

Their door had been flung open and I saw Mr. Flich standing in his nightgown glowering at me.

"Black!" He moved to run after me. That was where I was now, and Peeves had joined me. I twisted and turned down the myriad of hallways and rickety ladders. I stopped to take a breath in my room.

Well it wasn't really MY room, it was more of a room I had found and claimed as my own. It was an abandoned music room. I had cleaned up the cobwebs, swept out the dust, and drug a large pile of pillows and blankets up here to make it homey.

I still slept at Hagrid's house, but this little nook in one of the towers was where I would go to read, play the piano, or answer the letters my friends sent me. Professor McGonagall had taught me how to transfigure my clothes into whatever style I wanted so I didn't have to buy new ones all the time.

I had been growing like Professor Sprout's mandrake sproutlings. The twins would certainly be surprised when they saw me in a few months. An owl swooped in through the windows and dropped my letters at my feet. I flipped through them, one was a post card from Seamus. He'd gone to America for holiday. Neville sent me a letter with some dried flowers from his garden. I was surprised to see how thick the letter from the twins was. I tilted it back and forth and it felt like there was sand in it.

I opened it up and the letter was covered in a fine layer of grey ash that I brushed off. Fred and George had scrawled their devious escape plan for Harry. I'd told them that Harry's aunt and uncle had gotten out of control; they had put bars on his windows! The twins told me that the stuff in the envelope was called floo powder. I was to wait until the day before Harry's birthday, the day after tomorrow, and use the powder to get to the Weasley's home, which they affectionately called 'The Burrow'. I took out my mirror to get a hold of Harry but thought better of it. Harry would love a good surprise since he hadn't gotten any letters from his friends, or so he thought. A few days ago, I was talking to Harry via our mirrors and he told me that crazy little house elf had been in his room and waved a stack of letters in Harry's face that were all from his friends. That same house elf, Dobby, had succeeded in dropping Mrs. Dursley's cake on Mr. Dursley's business associate's wife's head, which ended in the bars being put on Harry's window.

I laughed and Andi soared in, a dead rat in her beak. I frowned. "Andromeda, get it out, go to the owlery with the rest of the birds if you're going to eat that." She lowered her head and gave me a pathetic look. I sighed. "Fine, just don't leave anything behind that I have to clean up." The phoenix jumped up and perched on the rafters, enjoying her snack.

I flopped down onto my pillows and looked over my mail again. It felt so good to have friends that wanted to talk to me all the time.

I had told Hagrid that I was going to go shopping with the Weasley twins, while this alarmed him, I assured him that Molly would be with us the entire time. The morning of July 30th I packed my backpack full of clothes for my stay at the Weasley's. I was so excited. The twins had been telling me about all the adventures they had planned for the next school year and I was helping them invent some new pranks via our letter correspondence.

I was up to the school to use one of the bigger fire places to go to the Burrow. Snape gave me a raised eye brow when I ran past him quickly.

"See you Professor!" I stood in an unlit fireplace and took a deep breath. "The Burrows." I threw the ashy powder down and was engulfed in bright green flames. I twisted and soared in darkness until I stumbled out of another fireplace into the homey looking front room of a house. Fred and George came thundering down the stairs and attacked me, knocking me to the floor when they hugged me.

"Gee guys, I missed you, too, but let me up, please." The each grabbed one of my hands and pulled me up. Fred grabbed the end of my braid and scowled.

"What's this?" He asked.

"…A braid?"

"Why'd you do it?" George asked.

"It's my adventure braid, I only wear it when I know I'm going to get into trouble." I said with a sarcastic tone.

"I don't like it." Fred said blatantly. "You should keep your hair the way you usually have it." I furrowed my brow but before I could say anything, Mrs. Weasley ran in and was surprised to see me.

"Nora! I wasn't expecting you," she came over and started cleaning my face with the corner of her apron.

"Sorry, I just dropped by for a visit." The twins winked at me.

"Well you are happy to stay as long as you like." I gave her my hundred watt smile that no one could resist. She ushered me into the kitchen and tried to get me to eat all the food she threw in front of me. I kept telling her that I wasn't hungry, but she wouldn't relent until I had taken a blueberry muffin. The twins drug me up to their room to show me their prototypes and tell me our plan. The way to their room, George grabbed Ron and he was in on our scheming.

That night the twins gave me the signal and I silently snuck out of Ginny's room. We all piled into Mr. Weasley's flying muggle car and rattled down the driveway and then shuddered up into the sky. It was a long was to Surrey. I was in the front seat with Fred driving. I chattered excitedly with both the three red haired boys about how their summer had been and if they were all excited to go back to Hogwarts. I asked the twins about Oliver Wood, if they had heard from him and what he was up to. I had a little bit of a crush on him. He was the captain of the Quidditch team so of course I would like him. I also kept in touch with Sawyer from the Leaky Cauldron a lot. He sent me a letter every few days telling me about how things were in Diagon alley and how his music was coming along. I was excited to see him when Molly said we'd be going school shopping in a few days.

It was the middle of the night before we got to number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey and Harry was asleep. I leaned out of the car and knocked on the window. He got up and opened the glass from the inside.

"Nora? Fred, George, Ron!?" He said excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Come along, my little prisoner, get packed up we've come to rescue you!" He ran deeper into his room. Ron handed me a hook attached to a length of rope that I had tied to the back of the car. I hooked it onto the bars on Harry's windows and Fred grinded the car into gear and ripped them off. We backed up and Harry struggled with getting the school trunk into the boot of the car. I heard his uncle yell from the hallway. He was unlocking the door. Harry finally got the trunk in and we pulled back around to get Hedwig and Harry. I handed the bird and her cage to Ron and then reached for Harry. I grabbed onto his hands as a hulking man with a disheveled mop of greying blond hair grabbed Harry's foot. I held onto Harry and was almost pulled out of the car. George and Ron leaned over the seat and grabbed onto me.

"Drive, Fred! Hurry!" I cried out. I held onto Harry and Fred took off. Mr. Dursley lost his grip on Harry's foot. I pulled him into the car and he slammed the door.

"By the way Harry, happy birthday." I said handing him his birthday present of an Irish Quidditch jersey. He gave me an awkward half hug because of the cramped conditions.

"Thanks so much, Nora!" I smiled and Ron and Harry jabbered excitedly while I rubbed my eyes, struggling to stay awake. After a while, Harry and Ron's conversation died out and I felt my eyes get heavier.

I woke up leaning against Fred who was guiding the car down the ground. He looked over at me and laughed.

"What?" We came to a sliding gut wrenching stop and Harry helped me out of the car. He let Hedwig out and she went to fly to a roost. George snuck up to the door and made sure it was clear for us to come in. We five snuck in and the boys grabbed some of Molly's blueberry muffins. I looked over at something that looked like a grandfather clock with little pictures of the family on the hands and in place of numbers there were places the kids could have been. Ron, George, and Fred's pictures all moved from the "Lost" banner to the "Home" banner. I turned and smiled at my friends.

"Where _have_ you been?!" Molly screeched. The twins pulled me between them behind Ron and Harry. "No note, beds empty, you could have been killed! Or worse, you could have been seen!" she saw Harry.

"I don't blame you or Nora, Harry dear."

"They were starving him, mum!" Ron pleaded. "They put bars on his windows!"

"You better hope I don't put bars on your window, Ronald Weasley." she said with a stern look. "Come along now, time for a spot of breakfast." She herded us back into the kitchen and we all sat down. The twins sat me between them and filled up my plate with oatmeal, bacon, fruit, even though I didn't ask for it. A man in a pointed hat came in.

"Good morning all!"

"Morning Dad!" The Weasley's chimed together. Mr. Weasley sat down next to Harry, glanced at him and then the paper. He stiffened and looked back over at Harry.

"And who are you?" He asked curiously.

"Harry Potter," Arthur Weasley smiled.

"My lord, are you really?" Harry nodded.

"Well then, Harry you must know all about Muggles, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?" There was an owl hoot and everyone looked to the window.

"That'll be Errol with the post." The bird slammed into the window and I stifled my laugh. "Be a dear and fetch it won't you, Percy?" Percy with his mused hair and prefect badge went to window and got the letter from his owl's beak.

"It's our Hogwarts letters, and they've sent us Harry and Nora's as well."

"Nora?" Mr. Weasley asked, "Who's Nora?" I leaned around George and waved at their dad.

"Nora Black, I'm a friend of the twins." He looked shocked.

"I didn't see you between them, hope they've been keeping you out of trouble."

"Funny you should mention that." Molly said, putting her hand on her hip. "Your sons flew that enchanted car to Surrey and back last night."

"Did you really? How'd it go?"

"Arthur!" Molly interjected.

"I mean it was very irresponsible of you boys, very wrong indeed." He winked at us when Molly turned her back. The youngest Weasley, Ginny, came running down the steps.

"Mum, where's my jumper?" She asked sweetly in her bathrobe.

"Ginny dear, it's on the cat." Ginny saw Harry and her eyes grew wide. The twins snickered and Harry told her hello and she ran back upstairs.

"What did I do?" Harry asked and I laughed.

"Ginny has a crush on you, Harry." I said, throwing a piece of toast at him from where I was sitting. We went to read our school letters.

"These books won't come cheap, mum," George said, passing the stack of parchment down. "The spell books alone are quite expensive." Mrs. Weasley bustled over to us and took the letter out of George's hands and looked it over.

"We'll manage." She handed it back. "There's only one place where we're going to get all of the things on this list… Diagon Alley." She told us to go get ready for a day shopping. I dressed with the others and pulled on my school cloak.

"Where'd you get all that?" The twins said aghast. I opened my knapsack wider and shrugged. The twins dug into my stash of pranks and gags.

"Zonko's, Hagrid took me." I had already told them that I was making potions for the ministry and that was where most of my money came from for everything I bought, which since I could transfigure my own clothes to tailor my tastes, left quite a bit of money to spend on jokes and things to make pranks with.

"We're going to have so much fun." George said quickly closing the bag before his mum could see.

"Come along Harry, you first." Molly said grabbing a pot from the side of the fireplace full of the same ashy powder the boys had sent me.

"But Harry's never traveled by floo powder before, mum." Ron said, she told him to go first. Ron stood in the fireplace and said Diagon Alley and was engulfed in bright green flames.

"Now you Harry, don't forget to speak very clearly, come along now." Harry completely butchered Diagon Alley, saying something like "Digenuerrly" I rolled my eyes.

"I'll go get him." I said the exact same thing as Harry and threw down the floo powder. I came sliding out of a low fireplace and knocking Harry off his feet. I helped him up and grabbed my knapsack from under a vicious looking table with claws.

"What'd you do to your glasses?" I smiled at him as he shrugged.

"Clumsy, I guess."

"You can say that again, 'Diagurn elly'? What are you, American?" We laughed and looked around. Harry touched a dried up looking hand and it grabbed him. I bolted over and helped him pry it off.

"Let's go, this place give me the creeps." Harry said as we rushed out the door. We were met by a group of freaky looking people that surrounded us. I pushed Harry behind me and pulled out my wand.

"Stand down." I said with a shake creeping into my voice.

"Nora! Harry! What are you two doing down here?" Hagrid boomed. The crowd parted and my guardian shooed us out of Knocturn Alley.

"Hagrid, what were you doing down there?" I asked him, he hesitated before answering.

"I was down there looking for flesh eating slug repellant, they're eating all the school cabbages." Hermione was walking out of a shop in front of us.

"Hermione!" Harry and I said with a smile. She ran over to greet us.

"Nora! Harry… what did you do to your glasses?" She said with a smirk as she pulled out her wand. The twins were waving at me from the book store. I told my friends I'd see them soon. The two red heads pulled me into the crowded book shop.

"What's going on?" I stepped on a stack of books to see over the people.

A blond man in powder blue robes was in front of everyone. He was the author of the books I was standing on; I could tell by the picture moving on the cover. I rolled my eyes as he pulled Harry up to give him his entire collected works. The twins and I were looking over his autobiography and the stories he was telling sounded familiar. I'd been spending a lot of time down in Hogsmead and around the other towns near Hogwarts and I enjoyed listening to the stories some of the wizards and witches told. I was sure that I had seen this Gilderoy Lockhart around somewhere before. Come to think of it, those magic folk had been rumored to have gone mad after their great adventures. I snapped the book shut and put it back on the table. I saw Malfoy leer at me from the steps. He pulled out a page in the book he was thumbing through and folded it up. He stomped down the steps just as Harry walked back to us. I was weary of this exchange. I was not exactly what one would call 'civil' when it came to that greasy little weasel.

"Bloody Harry Potter, can't even go to a bookshop without making the papers." Malfoy sneered. Ginny spoke up.

"You leave him alone." Malfoy grinned evily.

"Got yourself a girlfriend, do you Potter?" He laughed and a man who could only be his father walked up behind him.

"Now Malfoy, we mustn't make a scene." Malfoy senior looked at Harry with thinly veiled disgust. "Mr. Potter, if I may?" He gesture with his snake walking stick to Harry's forehead and pushed the hair away to look at the scar. "That scar is legend, as is the wizard who gave it to you."

"Voldemort killed my parents, he was nothing more than a murderer." Luscious Malfoy sneered and I saw where his son got it from.

"Think you are so brave, using his name in public?" I moved to confront him but the twins held me back. They were messing around in the pockets of my knapsack. I felt them press something into my palm, I glanced down and it was a dung bomb. They squeezed my shoulder.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Hermione said bravely.

"You must be Miss Granger, Draco has told me all about you… and your parents." She glanced over at couple of muggles talking to Mr. Weasley. He turned on Ron and Ginny. "Red hair, vacant expression," he pulled Ginny's used spell book out of her cauldron and sneered. "Tatty second hand books, you must be the Weasleys." I glared at him, wishing I could melt a human being with my mind. He met my eyes and he was shocked, it was plain to see on his face. "What? Who are you?"

"Renora," he looked expectantly at me, his tone becoming testy.

"Last name?" I shrugged.

"I don't talk to strangers." Arthur came over and ushered us out quickly. I slipped the dung bomb into Luscious Malfoy's pocket and the twins and I pressed our faces up against the glass as we watched the chaos ensue. It exploded with a billowing cloud of stink and brown smoke. Fred, George, and I all ran down the street before anyone could come after us. The twins hoisted me up onto their shoulders and cheered for my utter stupidity and lack of common sense. I laughed with them.

I was packing all my school supplies into my knapsack to take back with me, Hagrid had consented to let me stay one more day at the Burrows with Harry and the Weasleys. I had asked Professor Flitwick to teach me an undetectable extension charm on my bag so I would be able to fit all sorts of things in there and I had done it quite well. I mean I did lose things occasionally, but they came back when I used the proper spell to call them. The twins knocked at Ginny's door and I told them to come in. I was wearing my pajamas, well they were actually the Weasleys' old clothes; an old shirt from a long forgotten Quidditch match and a pair of pajama bottoms that I had to roll up on account of me being so much shorter than the lot of them. They drug me out of the room and up to theirs.

"You were bloody brilliant today, you know that?" They grinned at me. I smirked.

"You two handed me the dung bomb, so don't act like it was all me."

"We thought you were just going to put it by them, not that you were going to put it in a Death Eater's pocket!" I pulled a quilt off of one of the boys' beds and wrapped it around my shoulders as I sat down.

"He was being a jerk, so I thought it'd bring him down a few pegs." They clapped me on the shoulder and laughed.

I curled up on their floor rug and we went over some of their ideas for pranks products. I told them that they should sell some of them. There had to be kids all over who wanted high quality pranks and gags. They got really excited about that idea. I fell asleep in a pile of blankets and pillows I had taken from the twins' beds and curled in front of their stove. I felt them gingerly pick all their notebooks and rough sketches from under and around me before they went to bed.


	4. Chamber of Secrets part 2

I yawned and rolled over to hear Molly screech. I bolted up. She was standing in the doorway. The twins groggily rolled over to see what the commotion was about. "George and Fred Weasley! How dare you!" Molly swooped in and grabbed me from my nice warm pile of blankets and pillows.

"What?" The twins asked rubbing their eyes.

"You slept with a girl in your room who is you little brother's age!"

"Mum, she was on to floor." Fred pointed out.

"Mum, nothing happened." George held up his hands in defense.

"Molly, I just fell asleep up here, that's all." She glared at the boys and shooed me out of the room.

"Come along dear, we'll get you a spot of breakfast before Hagrid comes to pick you up."

"Is Harry going to stay here until term starts?" I asked her as she sat me down at the table.

"I would think so! That 'family' of his is right dreadful. I don't know why Dumbledore doesn't just let him stay with us, we have the room." She said with a shake of her head at the wrong doings of the Dursleys. She went to waving her wand and cooking breakfast. The rest of the family tromped down, half asleep. The twins sat on either side of me and I leaned my head on George's shoulder. He tried not to move it as he passed the bowls of food past me. I leaned up and shoved some pancakes into my mouth. A drop of syrup was on the corner of my lips and as I reached to grab a napkin, Fred wiped it off with his thumb. I looked at him blankly but he was already back to eating, it was too early to try and decide to understand boys, especially the Weasley twins. Harry and Ron looked even worse than I did. I heard a rumbling sound of Hagrid's motorbike. My guardian squeezed into the kitchen and I waved at him.

"Hagrid, can I get you anything?" Molly asked.

"No thank ya', Molly, well, I may take a cup of coffee." Molly rummaged around and brought out a pot she filled with coffee and handed to Hagrid.

"There you are dear. Nora, why don't you run up and get changed?" I shoved another pancake in my mouth and raced up to Fred and George's room and grabbed my backpack. I dug down into the depths of my bag and pulled out a dress I had found in one of the many abandoned rooms of Hogwarts on my exploration using the Marauder's map the twins left me. Of course I had tailored the old fashioned dress to be knee-length with more fuffera. I ripped a brush though my knotted hair and folded my borrowed clothes up. The twins knocked and burst in. They both hugged me at the same time like they always did.

"Guys, I'll see you in a couple of weeks. I have to step up my game though, there's still loads of passages I haven't used yet."

"You better keep that map safe, it took us ages to figure out how to use it." Fred picked up my bag and handed it to me.

"Boys! Nora! Get down here now!" I walked slowly down the steps and sighed. I hugged Harry. Ron awkwardly shook my hand. I hugged him when he let go. Molly chuckled and squeezed me tight and handed me a parcel of food to take with me. She leaned down to fix my sleeve and whispered.

"We both now that Hagrid is full of good intentions, but not cooking capabilities." I smiled and she nodded.

"Ready to go, Nora?" Hagrid said squeezing out the door. I got to the doorway and turned.

"Bye, Weasleys, Bye Harry!" I tossed my backpack into the sidecar and grabbed my goggles, I had turned them scarlet and gold in one of my transfiguration classes and kept them that way.

Hagrid started the bike with a rumble. He nodded at me and grinded to a start and flew up into the sky, in for a long trip back to Hogwarts. I sighed and enjoyed the warm sun on my face and the breeze in my hair.

"How is Andi doing?" I asked Hagrid.

"Doing good, she looks for you around every corner though, even got in a bit of trouble with old Flich over that little bit of fur your phoenix pulled out of the cat when they were playing."

"Has she been sleeping on her pedestal?"

"Every night, I know Dumbledore told you how important that was, so I made sure of it."

"Thanks Hagrid, you're the best." I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I must had fallen asleep because I woke up to the smell of the briny Black Lake and the lights of Hogwarts shining in front of us. We careened down the hill and came to a sliding stop in front of the hut. I jumped out and clomped up the steps. I hung my bag on the corner of my roughhewn bed post and flopped down on my bed, picking up a book I had on werewolves. Hagrid came in and asked me if I wanted some tea.

"Yeah, I'm starving actually." My stomach grumbled and I went to get something to eat out of the many jars and baskets hanging around the room. I gnawed on one of the rock like cakes Hagrid makes and went back to reading as Hagrid fixed the tea. While he wasn't what I would call a good cook, Hagrid did try so I taught him a few basic tips and secretly picked him up a cook book for beginners in Diagon Alley so we wouldn't have to continue to live on hard cake and strange sandwiches. Andi cooed and swooped in the open window. She perched on my head board and rubbed her head against my cheek in greeting. "Hey there, girl, did you have fun with old Mrs. Norris?" She curled up on my bed and nodded slowly. I propped my book up against my phoenix.

"Whatchya reading over there, Nora?" Hagrid asked as he poured some tea into a chipped bowl.

"A book on werewolves, did you know that the wolfsbane potion was created by the uncle of a kid who goes to school at Hogwarts?"

"I did not." He brought over the tea tray to the table and I sat down on the barrel that I had claimed as my seat. I sipped my hot tea and noticed something sticking out of one of the pockets of my knapsack. I reached over and pulled out a packet of sketches for possible gags for the twins with notes from both of them on what they thought or questions they wanted to ask me about their projects. I smiled and tucked them back in the pocket. An owl fluttered in and dropped a parcel on my bed. Hagrid petted the bird before it took off. I opened the little box and inside was a ring with a plain blue stone. A note in the bottom said it was from Sawyer, he had been to an American wizard joke shop with his parents while I was at the Burrows and thought about me. I put it on and admired it. It was supposed to shock people when I touched them. I took it off and put it back in the box, setting it up on my shelf.

"You seem very… popular with the boys." Hagrid said with an awkward tone.

"Hagrid, we're just friends." He hid beneath his hair and poured some more brandy into his tea.

"I see, I see." I told him that I was going to go back to reading when he went out to patrol the grounds on his nightly circuit with Fang.

I pulled out my mirror and called for Harry. The surface rippled and my best friend was staring back at me.

"Hey Nora!"

"Staying out of trouble Harry? No more house elves in your midst?" He shook his head, I hear a thundering of feet.

"Never," he grinned when he looked to his left. "I think you have a few admirers who wish to speak to you, m'lady." He laughed and tossed the mirror up to the two redheaded twins.

"Hey Nora! Long time no see." They said with a wink.

"What do you want me to do with this pile of fire kindling?" I grabbed the papers out of my backpack.

"Why do you wound us so, Nora Black?" I rolled my eyes.

"You two really need to get over your unhealthy obsession with me. I just left your house and you've commandeered Harry's mirror to speak with me again, it's enough to make a girl swoon." I stuck my tongue out at them and they laughed.

"We just needed another set of eyes to look over our plans before we started working on them, so you flatter yourself too much." I shook my head and they tossed the mirror back to Harry. We continued the conversation about the house elf, Dobby, who had shown up in his room the other day.

Before I knew it, Harry was yawning and I was having a hard time staying awake. I told him good night and to have fun at the Burrows. I would have given anything to be able to stay there as long as Harry got to.


	5. Chamber of Secrets part 3

I was going for a walk with Andi soaring above me. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going until I heard hooves pounding the ground. I looked around and saw a centaur glaring at me from the shadows of a large oak tree.

"Hello."

"You are on the Centaurs' land."

"I was just taking a walk, I'll leave." I turned to go back the way I came. "Well, which way is Hogwarts?"

"Usually students don't wander out this far, why have you come here?" He asked pawing the ground anxiously.

"I told you, I just went out for some fresh air." Andi landed on my shoulder and watched the half-horse half-man just as analytically as the centaur was watching her.

"You are no normal witch." I curtsied in my emerald green dress with glittering tights.

"Thank you for noticing." He snorted at my display.

"I mean you do not act afraid of me."

"Why should I, you haven't done anything to frighten me, or hurt me, so I don't see why I should be afraid of you." He moved closer to me and his body was a glistening chestnut color with a few dapples of white on his back.

"You are very strange."

"Says the boy who is half horse." I pulled my hair to the side and braided it.

"You have a phoenix."

"That wasn't a question," Andi scratched her face with a talon.

"How?" The curious boy moved forward casually.

"It was a present, took a bloody long time to train her though." Andi nipped at my ear, "Bugger off, you blasted bird."

"May I touch her?" He outstretched his hand to touch my phoenix.

"You can try." The bird looked untrustingly at the centaur's hand and after a tense moment leaned forward to consent for him to touch her feathers. "I'm Nora, by the way."

"I am Gisborne." Andi cooed softly when the Centaur scratched the back of her neck.

"It's nice to meet you." He looked at me and I looked into his bronze eyes.

We stood there looking at each other for what seemed like hours until he spoke again.

"Would you like to see something amazing?" He said softly.

"I thought you would never ask." He kneeled down. "What are you doing?" I asked him, tossing Andi into the air and she took off to soar on the warm summer breeze.

"Allowing you to ride me."

"What?" I shook my head. "You shouldn't if your herd sees you with a human they will be very angry."

"They will not see." The look in his solemn eyes made me trust him.

"If you insist." I clambered onto his back and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Hold on, Nora." He galloped off through the forest. I held on tighter when he jumped across a stream. We came out of the forest on a cliff overlooking the black lake. The sun shown over the surface making it like a mirror.

"Wow," I said softly, twirling around in the brisk breeze. I smiled at Gisborne.

"It is quite beautiful."

"Yes, it is." He kneeled down and I leaned against his body, feeling the heart of a man beat inside.

We sat and talked for hours. Andi lazily flew around and would drop out of the sky to catch a mouse or fish. He asked me all about school and what I did with the other students. He wanted to know what books I liked to read and how much I knew of astrology. The sunset was really beautiful. I watched it with Gisborne. The stars came out and he pointed out planets and constellations.

"I'm not very good at remembering all the stars and planets." I admitted, moving closer to his warmth.  
>He pointed up at the sky and traced a constellation, naming it. I heard someone yelling for me; Hagrid. Gisborne looked at me. "I believe it's time for you to return to the land of men." He grabbed me up and effortlessly swung me up onto his back and we took off, darting along the shore of the lake. He slowed at the edge of the dark forest. He kneeled down and I slid off. Andi landed on my shoulder and I waved goodbye to Gisborne.<p>

"I'll see you again." I told him as he walked away, he turned.

"That doesn't sound like a question." He said, a hint of smile in his voice.

"It wasn't," I laughed.

I sighed as I hung up yet another picture of Gilderoy Lockhart on the walls of the defense against the Dark Arts classroom with a little more force than was necessary.

"Renora, dear, do be more careful, these are quiet precious." I glared at the talking painting and let it drop back into the box. Professor Lockhart burst out of his office, a sparkling grin on his face. "How was that for a grand entrance?"

"Exactly like the last twelve times you did it."

"Ah, do you think that I am practicing too much? Well let me tell you, I didn't defeat the Vitruvian Vampires without a little practice."

"That's not even a thing. 'Vitruvian Vampires'?" I asked him from where I was leaning on the physical manifestation of his ego; the box full of self-portraits. "I've never seen a vampire, but I think that you couldn't actually take one in a fight."

"Well," he sniffed. "I don't like your tone, I am still your professor, Renora."

"It's just Nora, and I've read your books, they seem like a load of codswallow to me." I said as I slammed the door to his classroom. I couldn't take any more of that man. I burst out the school and hurried across the yard to the Black Lake. Gisborne told me he wanted to see me before I had to go officially back to school tomorrow. I had neglected to tell anyone about my centaur friend. Andi cawed and flew high above me. I grabbed my backpack from where I had stashed it a crack in a boulder. I raced up to the rock that jutted out over the water. I sat down in the warm afternoon sun to wait for Gisborne to meet me. The Centaurs were riled up lately, they felt a shift in the atmosphere. I leaned back and rested my head on my backpack. An owl came to skidding stop next to me. I grabbed the ragged bird before it slid off into the water. It was the Weasley's owl, Errol. I took the letter from him and he collapsed from the exhaustion of the long flight.

The letter was from the twins.

_Dear Nora, _

_Have you got any wet-start no heat fireworks left? It seems Fred and I neglected to get enough to get us through the school year. We can't wait to get in trouble with you this year. Don't lose the Marauder's map between today and tomorrow. _

_Don't tell him we told you, but we think Ron may have a crush on you. He's turned into Ginny, talking about you and asking after you all the time. I'm sure Harry will be heartbroken, the only man for you is a Weasley. _

_Love,_

_George and Fred._

_P.S. Don't have too much fun with Lockhart without us. _

I heard the soft click of Gisborne's hooves on the rock. I stood up and smiled at him. I reached into my backpack to give him the bracelet I had made from Andi's feathers when she got them pulled out by Mrs. Norris when they were playing. I reached out to give it to him but there was a look of anger on his usually cool features.

"What's wrong, Gisborne?" He refused to meet my eyes.

"I think it would be in our best interest if we stay away, if we go back to the way it was before. Stay off Centaur land for your safety." I dropped the bracelet and grabbed my knapsack.

I tried to contain my anger. "I know they are telling you to say that. They found out, didn't they, your herd." I brushed past him. He turned to watch me go. "You should have stood up for yourself. We are friends and nothing will change that." He met my eyes and I held his heartbreaking gaze.

"You know nothing, witch, of the ways of centaurs so do not act as if you have any right to speak to me that way." I ran away. Andi swooped down and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me up into the air. With a fiery display and a slight pop we apparated to the school grounds. I dropped to my knees. That had felt like being squeezed through a pipe and dropped onto the ground. Andi walked over and looked at me, nudging me with her beak. I looked up and gave her a sad smile.

"You did well, Andromeda." I stroked her head. I stood up and trudged up to castle to go to my secret room. I saw Professor Dumbledore talking to McGonagall and I made a break for a secret passageway to the tower I was headed for, but he called me over. I stood in front of him, the transfiguration professor bid us good day and took her leave.

"Nora, you seem troubled." I shrugged. I rubbed my eyes, I wouldn't cry.

"It's nothing Professor, just getting teary-eyed for the end of the holidays." He didn't believe me.

"I've heard that you aren't getting on very well with the new defense against the Dark Arts teacher, is that correct?"  
>"He's a sham, sir. I've been down to the Hogsmead and heard from associates of the wizards and witches that actually defeated the monsters in his books." Dumbledore nodded, "After they went on their adventures, they went mad."<p>

"You are very bright, Nora."

"I just have a lot of time to read." Andi swooped in and perched on one of the stone buttresses.

"I have seen you spending quite a lot of time in the Dark Forest, not taking too much after your friends the Weasley twins, are you?"

"No, not yet sir." I said with a wink.

"Well, I will let you be on your way, I just wanted to make sure that everything was fine with you on this beautiful day." He walked away, humming.

I took my time climbing the stairs up to my secret hideaway. I sighed and wrote back to the twins, I'd find an owl before dinner to send it back. Errol was probably still snoozing around on the rock.

I sat at the piano and looked at the keys. I played a melancholy chord.

Gisborne was no longer speaking to me.

I changed my finger position and hit the same chord, this time adding a few deep bass notes with my left hand.

How had the herd found out that he was spending time with me?

I clanged the keys together in an ugly screech.

"What if he really just didn't want to spend any more time with me?" I said quietly. I shook my head and went back to playing my lonely sad song that reminded me of receding hoof beats. Andi sat perched on the unused fireplace mantle and preened her feathers.

The train was almost to the station at Hogwarts. I was already dressed in my robes, awaiting my friends. The train pulled up in a cloud of smoke and kids poured out. I saw the twins at once, they towered above the others and their bright red hair did nothing to keep them hidden. I waved over at them. They waved back and pushed their way through the crowd to see me.

"Where's my wannabe lover?" I joked after they hugged me.

"You mean you haven't seen him yet?" They asked. I shook my head. I saw Neville trip and bolted over to him to help him up. I dusted off his robes and hugged him.

"Hey, Nora!" He smiled with his crooked teeth.

"Hey, Neville, how've you been? Oh, you should be getting up to castle for the feast, don't let me hold you up." I pushed him with the tide of students. I looked around for Harry. I didn't see his mop of black hair anywhere. I rushed up to Hagrid and asked him if he had seen Harry anywhere; he hadn't I rushed away to recheck the kids who had already passed.

The feast was about to start and I was running around the grounds asking if anyone had seen Harry; they hadn't. I was on the side of the school with that ghastly whomping willow. I heard an engine and just knew that it was Harry and Ron in that enchanted car of his father's. I turned and saw the headlights of the turquois car right before it crashed into the wicked willow. The tree shuddered and started beating the car.

"Harry!" I screeched and ran over to try and do something. I pulled out my wand and immobilized the tree only after it had already thrown the car out of its branches. The doors snapped open and the trunks, the animals, and the boys were tossed out before it sped away to the forest. I helped Harry and Ron up.

"Thanks, Nora." Ron was distraught because his wand was broken. "Be thankful it isn't your neck." I pointed out and he blushed as I pulled a twig out of his wiry hair.

I let Hedwig out and carried her cage for Harry as the boys struggled with their trunks.

"What do we have here?" Argus Flich stepped around a corner and sneered. "My, my, we are in trouble aren't we?" I frowned. We were so close to getting in without notice. "You," he pointed at me with one grisly finger.

"Yes?" I said with more sass than I meant for it to have.

"Keep your bloody bird under control, almost took poor Mrs. Norris's ear off today."

"I'll tell my bird to not be your cat's only friend, sir." I grabbed Harry and Ron into a secret passage and we twisted and turned and climbed until we were by the kitchens. I snuck them in and we gorged ourselves on the food that was left over from the feast. I had just shoved a big spoonful of pudding in my mouth when Snape came in, glaring at all three of us sitting and stuffing our faces.

"You three, come with me, now." He snapped. We followed him without hesitation to his office in the dungeons. He took a paper out of his desk and threw it down so we could see the headlines. "Seen by no less than 6 muggles!" He said angrily.

"I believe it was seven," I pointed at the headline. He glowered at me.

"If it were up to me, you two would be on the train back to London-tonight." He spat at Harry and Ron.

"But, as it is, Severus, it is not." Dumbledore said calmly with Professor McGonagall.

Ron hung his head and sighed, "We'll go get our trunks."

"Whatever do you mean, Mr. Weasley?" The head of Gryffindor said confused.

"You're going to expel us, aren't you?" She smiled a little.

"Not today," she hurried the two of them off. I stood waiting to be told my punishment.

"Miss Black," Snape said with a tired tone in his voice, either he was embarrassed he had to say that or he was tired of my shenanigans.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I've given you a detention with Hagrid tomorrow night."

"What for this time?" I said crossing my arms.

"You insulted Professor Lockhart yesterday."

"I just told him the truth." I said with a smirk. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"He is still your superior, Nora." He looked at me with his steely eyes.

"I'm more qualified than that bumbling buffoon of a phony wizard."

"Go, you need to get to your house. Hagrid will expect you tomorrow afternoon down at the Forbidden Forest." I nodded and may have shut the door to his office with a little more force than necessary.


	6. Chamber of Secrets part 4

I tromped up to Gryffindor tower and bumped into Wood talking to Angelina Johnson about Quidditch.

"Hey!" I said with a smile to both of them.

"Hi, Nora!" Angelina said and took a book from Wood before she went into the common room.

"Hey there Miss Black." Wood said with a grin.

We stood there awkwardly trying to not look at each other while we talked about our summer holidays.

The portrait of the fat lady swung open and Fred and George clambered up, looking like they were up to no good. I raised an eyebrow at them. George stood up straighter to make himself taller than Wood.

"Wood, what are you doing out here with our Nora?" He had a tick of a defensive tone in his usually jovial tone.

"We were planning our future children's names," Wood winked at me.

"Oh, yes," I went along with it. "There's going to be Hamish Oliver Wood, Petunia Ginerva-" Fred slapped a hand over my mouth and tossed me over his shoulder.

"We have schemes and tricks and no time for boys." He laughed and ran off with me, George close behind.

When I was dumped off Fred's shoulder, the twins stood in front of me, arms crossed, big brotherly looks on their face.

"Guys, I was just talking to him." I continued to sit on the floor and look up at them in the gloom of the secret passageway we had slipped into.

"He's extremely too old for you." Fred said and George gave a stern nod to punctuate the sentence.

"He's only five years older than me." I pointed out, standing up and dusting my butt off.

"That's way too old for a second year." I sighed and crossed my arms.

"You guys are three years old than me." I dug around in my knapsack and pulled out a wet start firework and walked away to the secret door of the boys' prefect bathroom to cause some mayhem.

The twins ran after me.

I stomped around the forest with Hagrid. We were catching Cornish pixies in a grove. I couldn't stop thinking about Gisborne. I was so angry that he just dumped me like that, not that we were together in a romantic sense I don't even know how that would work.

I pulled out my wand and stupefied a pack of sleeping pixies and shoved them into the gold cage.

"Thanks, Nora," I handed him the cage. "Don't know how I would do this without you." Hagrid took off back to the school but I stayed back.

I looked up at the trees, they made me feel like I was miles away from people hundreds of years in the past. I felt like someone was watching me. I spun around to see a flash of an indigo cloak disappear into the dark. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. There were dangerous things in these woods, but I didn't have to time to worry about them.

Lockhart was building up the suspense about how riveting his class would be. I recognized the cage of pixies. He tapped the cage and it shook violently. I smiled wickedly.

He uncovered the little beasts and the class gasped. Seamus piped up from beside me.

"Cornish pixies?" He scoffed.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies." He went on to say that they were perfectly harmless and then he went and let them out.

Chaos erupted. The students ran out into the hallway. I stayed with Ron, Harry, and Hermione to get them back into their cage. Lockhart spewed some nonsensical spell I'd told him to try and contain the pixies. I laughed when the pixies stole his wand and used it to cause more mayhem.

Hermione stupefied the winged creatures. I looked up at Neville, and shook my head. He was hanging from the tall chandelier.

"Why's it always me?" he grumbled. I pulled out my wand and levitated him down. Mending his robes as I did so.

"How was that adventure, Neville?"

"Bloody wee beasts."

I laughed and we walked out of class.

"I still can't believe you passed out in Herbology, you love plants."

"It wasn't my fault, those mandrakes are right foul gits with all that screaming."

I was sitting in the courtyard reading with Ron and Hermione when the Quidditch team came walking out. I jumped up and smiled at Wood. He winked and told his team that he'd devised a whole new practice regime over the summer. I walked over to the twins who each wrapped their non-broom holding arms around my shoulders. I saw the Slytherin team all tromp up to Wood and I pushed my way to the front.

They had a note from Snape to practice on the field today to train Malfoy as their new seeker.

Ron and Hermione came up. In a flurry and snarky comments, Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood and insulted the entire Weasley family. I would not let that fly. I clenched my fist but Ron tried to curse Malfoy, but only succeeded in making himself spit up slugs. Harry and Hermione helped him down to Hagrid's. When they were out of earshot Malfoy said meanly,

"Serves him right, cavorting with a muggle-born and Potter-" My small fist connected solidly with his nose. A satisfying crunch echoed and my hand burned with pain. I cradled it and enjoyed the sight of Malfoy bleeding all over as he started to cry.

"You better get a move on, Nora, McGonagall's not going to like this one bit." Fred nudged me towards the exit of the courtyard.

"Not one step, Ms. Black." My house headmistress glared at me as she told the Slytherin team help Malfoy to the hospital wing. "What happened here?" The Quidditch team stayed to side with me but McGonagall sent them off. I saw the twins were reluctant to leave. I gestured with my good hand for them to leave. They hid out behind two posts to watch the exchange.

"Malfoy, he called Hermione a Mudblood and then he attacked my friends' family." I winched and held my hurting hand.

"Why did you resort to violence?"

"Didn't I just give you reason? He was being a bully and needed to be taken down a few pegs."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You will receive a weeks' worth of detentions, and five points will be taken from Gryffindor." She walked with me to Madame Pommfrey's to get fixed up. Malfoy was twisting and turning and moaning like a little girl.

I sat down on the bed and enjoyed the view of Malfoy's swollen face. My knuckles were turning dark purple and swelling up. The nurse bustled over and tsked at my hand as she looked it over.

"This will hurt like a Dickens." She pointed her wand at my hand and I heard a sharp crack and my hand felt better. I sucked in a breath as the pain caught up with me. I flexed my fingers and it slowly went away. The bruised stayed.

"Can I kept them? It'll give me more credibility." She shook her head and looked over at Malfoy before she leaned down.

"You did exactly what everyone wants to do, thank you." I grinned and she wrapped a bandage around my knuckles with a soothing potion soaked on them.

I walked to the common room as I admired my bandaged hand. The twins accosted me and made me sit on the couch as they paced in front of me.

"Why would you do that? Are you stupid?" Fred ranted, "I mean it was bloody brilliant but stupid." He rang his hand through his hair and sighed. Wood and the rest of the Quidditch team sans Harry came down to tell me it was okay.

Andi flew over and curled up on my lap.

"Calm down, Freddie, I think your hair might catch on fire." I smirked and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Just don't go getting into fights you can't be a hundred percent certain you're going to win."

"Stop being so overprotective, Fred, I have to go to potions, I'll see you guys later." I walked out of the common room with Andi on my shoulder.

Needless to say that Snape was furious about my actions. When I told him what Malfoy had called Hermione a shadow passed over his face, like he was far away and long ago. He told me to leave, my lesson for this evening was canceled.

"I would like to tell you that your week with me will be filled with adventure, excitement, and well, me." I stared at Professor Lockhart un-amazed. Harry stood beside me, he'd gotten a detention for something or the other so now we had to spend the night answering fan mail for this wretch.

Harry only had one night while I had all week for punching Malfoy, I had tried to get it with Hagrid, or Snape even, but it's like McGonagall wants me to hate every minute of my punishment.

I was sitting next to Harry and we were writing fan mail letters back to the girls, no, the _women_ who fawned over him and lamented his adventures. An hour in, I put an enchantment over myself and Harry so that we couldn't hear Lockhart which was fine by him.

The fool just kept chatting away. Time slipped away slowly and the pile of letters I had written grew. I took the stack of signed photos and stuffed one in the envelopes. Keeping the extra on my lap.

I sighed and stretched, dropping my quill with a small splash of ink. I looked at the clock and secretly dissolved the charm. Lockhart was telling us how great it was for us to spend the evening with him. Harry got this weird look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked quietly as I sealed the letters.

"Did you hear that?" I shook my head. Lockhart watched our exchange.

"What are you two whispering about over there?"

"Just telling him how hungry I was, since you did, in fact, cause us to skip dinner." I stood up and shrugged.

"Well, look at the time, we've been here nearly four hours, why don't you two hurry off to the kitchens to see if there's anything left over." I rolled my eyes and pulled Harry into the hall.

"Can you believe him?" I shoved the pictures I had taken for Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny in my pocket. Harry stopped and looked around. "What is it?"

"Did you hear that?" He looked around. Touching the wall he ran down the hallway, I followed him, concerned about is mental health.

"What did you hear?" Ron and Hermione came around the corner and we jumped.

"Did you hear that noise? It was like a voice." Harry asked his friends. "It's moving, I think it's going to kill." He took off running again and we stopped at window where a persistent line of spiders fled out of a crack in the glass.

"I've never seen spiders act like that before…"

"I hate spiders." Ron whined.

We all shook our heads. I looked down and realized we were standing in water. I looked at the reflection and tugged on Harry's sleeve.

"Guys." I pointed at the words written on the wall. "'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir, beware'." I mono-toned.

"Is that Mrs. Norris?" Ron said. The cat was hanging from a lamp sconce and the students were all filing into the halls from supper.

"Stay right where you are!" McGonagall howled.

"Is that my cat, did you kill my cat!?" Mr. Flich glared at all of us, hysterical.

"She is merely petrified, Argus." Dumbledore put his hand on my shoulder. "It has come my attention Professor Sprout has a healthy growth of Mandrakes, when matured can be made into a draft to revive her."

"See that, 'Enemies of the heir beware', you're going to be next, Mudbloods." Malfoy snickered. I glared at him.

"Go back to your houses, all of you!" McGonagall yelled. The students filed away. The twins caught my eye and they told me that they were definitely going to talk to me later.

"You four, stay here." Snape snarled.

"What happened here?" Dumbledore asked us.

"We were coming to find Harry and he said-" Hermione started, Ron jabbed her in the ribs.

"I said I wasn't hungry," my stomach growled to disprove Harry's lie.

"Come to think of it, I didn't see Black or Potter at dinner." Snape looked at both of us.

"That was my doing, Severus, they had detention with me tonight."

"Likely excuse, Lockhart."

I sighed and looked back up at the letters on the wall; they were written in blood. Something was in the castle and everyone was in danger. I needed to find out what it was and protect my friends from it.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, please go with Professor McGonagall, she'll escort you back to your house. Miss Black, I need to speak with you." Dumbledore ushered my friends away and Harry gave me a questioning look.

When we were sitting in his office, I petted Fawkes and asked Dumbledore, "What is the Chamber of Secrets, sir?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. My phoenix screeched and soared into the room to perch on the ceiling.

"Do you know the story of the Hogwarts founders?"

"Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin decided to make a school to train magical kids."

"Very good, three of the founders got along very well, but one, did not."

"Slytherin."

"He believed that only pure blooded families should be taught. He built the Chamber of Secrets and rumor has it that there was a beast he would release to eliminate the 'lesser' students."

"Haven't you found it?" I asked, irritated, I was hungry and tired.

"Obviously the school has been searched countless times, but we have yet to find it."

"Do you have any idea of what it was in there?" I sat down heavily in a chair.

"Nora, I know I have asked quite a lot of you, protecting Harry, and now I need you to find the Chamber, or at least try to find what is hidden inside."

"I know, I figured as much considering you brought me here and told me the truth about the Chamber." I rubbed my eyes. "I'll start tomorrow." I yawned. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea about where I should start to look, would you? That would be uncharacteristically fortuitous." Dumbledore chuckled.

"Miss Black, you act so much like your father, he would be very proud of the way you have handled yourself here."

"Are you ever going to tell me about my parents?" I stood up and Andi lighted on my shoulder.

"When the time is right, yes, but now it is late and I think there are things in your common room waiting for you." I walked to the door.

"You know, sir, one day I'll get tired of waiting for the right time and you will not be able to lure me away with vague promises of food."

"I do not condone violence at my school, Ms. Black, but when you hit Mr. Malfoy the other day, Professor McGonagall may have taken away five points, but she also awarded you ten for defending your friends." I laughed and left.

I made the long, dark journey up to Gryffindor tower alone, Andi having flown off to go hunt mice and rats and all manner of creepy crawlies with Fawkes. I was using a secret passage way when someone grabbed my shoulder. I jumped and tripped over something I couldn't see in the dark since my wand clattered to the floor.

"Get away from me!" I kicked at the person, it had to be a person, I reasoned, who else would use these halls…

"Nora! Calm down, it's just us!" George lit up his wand and illuminated the twins' faces. Fred pressed my wand into my palm. They helped me up and we continued on our way.

"So what did Dumbledore want?" Fred said as we climbed up a rickety ladder.

"To compliment me on my outstanding record as a student here." George helped me up to the next set of steps.

"You're a really bad liar, you know that right?"

"I was being sarcastic, that's not a lie."

"What did he want?"

I sighed, "We talked about the Chamber of Secrets."

"And?" The twins prompted me.

"And nothing, he just told me about how Salazar Slytherin was pretty much a super old version of Malfoy. Bigoted and self-righteous." I sneezed from the dust we were kicking up, I didn't usually use these passages.

"Want to go looking for it?" They asked me.

"Not right now, I'm starving and bone tired." I opened the trap door behind a large tapestry and crawled out. The twins followed me. I stood in front of the Fat Lady's picture, she was asleep. I cleared my throat. She acted like she didn't hear me.

"Hello?" I said a little louder. She sighed loudly and opened her eyes.

"Password," she droned.

"Seven Silver Swords." The painting swung in and the twins and I were greeted with a flurry of questions and gossip about the writing on the wall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed over and accosted me with questions. I told them I was hungry and tired, I'd talk about it all in the morning. Before I could trudge up the steps, Wood grabbed my hand and smiled.

"Nora, I think old Dumbledore left you something on the table." He pulled me over and showed me a plate of never-ending sandwiches.

"Thanks, Wood." I picked up the plate and smile. "Let me guess, everyone has already eaten their share, he smiled and shrugged.

"Pretty much, there was food and it kept multiplying and you weren't here, so yeah." I grabbed a few and handed the plate to Harry.

"Eat up, Harry, we still have class tomorrow." I took a big bite of my food and walked up to my room to pass out.

I was sleeping in transfiguration class. Well not sleeping, but I had my head down and didn't care about turning pets into water goblets because that just seemed impractical. Seamus nudged me and I looked up. Hermione had asked about the Chamber of Secrets. McGonagall told them the exact story Dumbledore had told me the night before.

"-The heir alone, could be able to open the chamber, which would purge the school for the 'lesser borns'."

"Professor, what does legend say is in the Chamber?"

"A creature who only the heir of Slytherin could control." I realized what I needed to look for when class was over.

I told Harry I had to go to the library. I ran up the stairs and searched the shelves for the book I needed. I was hidden in a nook by a window, ferociously flipping through pages on books about snakes. It only made sense that Salazar Slytherin would put a giant killer snake in the Chamber.

"-it's very hard. I've never seen a more complicated potion." I heard Hermione say quietly as she flipped through a book. I peeked through the shelves and saw her bushy brown hair between the books.

Ron and Harry looked at her, befuddled.

"So if we drink this, Harry and I'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but it will take some time to get all of the ingredients."

"How long?" Harry said, combing through his hair with his fingers.

"A month." Hermione consented sadly.

"A month?" I mouthed quietly, they were talking about Polyjuice potion, and I could brew that up in a few days.

"Hermione, Draco could kill half the Muggle-borns in the school by then!" Harry stressed.

"I know." I walked around the shelves and smiled at them.

"Not to take away your independence, but I could help you get some of those supplies, if you want." I said with a crooked grin.

Harry was playing Quidditch, first match of the season against who else, Slytherin.

"Go Harry!" I cheered. Seamus grabbed onto the back of my robes as I hung over the railing, waving a Gryffindor flag. I stepped back and continued to cheer.

"Why do you have to be so reckless, Nora?" He insisted, I felt the warmth of his hand through my cloak.

"Life's too short to not live dangerously, Finnegan." I noticed one of the bludgers going after Harry much more aggressively than usual.

I made my way through the crowd, keeping an eye on Harry.

"That's been tampered with." I mumbled and pulled out my wand, keeping it pressed to my side as I climbed down to the ground level.

I saw Harry and Malfoy dip down into the gulley surrounding the pitch. My friend came back up as Malfoy rolled on the ground. The Bludger hit his arm really hard and knocked off his arm pad. Harry grabbed the snitch and fell to the ground. I ran out onto the field and dropped down beside him.

"Nora!" Harry pushed me away and turned on his side as the bludger pounded into the sand.

"Finete incantato!" I yelled and the bludger blew up into dust. I supported Harry's head.

"I-I think my arm's broken." I looked down and it looked like it was swelling.

People crowded around us. Lockhart came over and told him that he could fix his arm in and instant.

I stood between them, "Sir, you are going to fail horribly if you try, so don't. Madame Pomfrey can fix it in an instant." I was trying to be respectful.

"Don't be so foolish, Ms. Black, I can mend bones faster than that." He pushed me out of the way and cast a nonsensical spell. Harry's arm went slack and Lockhart bent his wrist back like it was a licorice wand.

I pushed him out of the way and helped Harry up. "You're a bloody idiot, Lockhart. You took all the bones out of his arm!" I glared at him as I walked Harry to the infirmary.

"I'm going to hex him and his stupid teeth." I grumbled as Madame Pomfrey bustled out to get something to regrow Harry's bones.

Harry was given a dose of vile smelling liquid which he proceeded to spit out in a fine spray, covering me. I sighed and wiped my face off with the sleeve of my jacket.

"What did you expect? Pumpkin juice?" Pomfrey snipped and poured him another dose. He swallowed it with a cringe. The twins grabbed my hands when we were told to leave Harry so he could get some rest.

I wanted to find out why that Bludger had attacked him. The house elf, the platform closing itself, now the Chamber of Secrets? Something was very wrong at Hogwarts this year and I needed to find out what was going on.

"Nora," Fred whispered in my ear, making me jump. I looked around, not even realizing that the twins had pulled me into the one-eyed witch passageway.

"What?"

"What's going on?" They said in unison, blocking me from leaving or going to Hogsmead.

I sat down heavily on the cold damp floor. The twins kneeled beside me.

"Have you ever had to do something so important that it just eats you up until you become that task?" I said quietly, casting a faint light down the corridor with my wand.

"No…" George sat down beside me, his warmth comfortable.

"I do, it's something I have to do by myself."

"Is that why Dumbledore calls you to his office all the time?"

"Most of it is for disciplinary referrals." Fred sat down on the other side of me, they were still wearing their Quidditch uniforms.

"Right now we won't press you for details, but you're going to have to tell us what the headmaster is making you do." Something ran along my back and I gasped.

"I have to go, I know what to do."

"What? Nora! You can't just run off like that, it's our thing!" The twins rushed out of the passage with me.

"You guys can't help me, it's too dangerous," they laughed and caught the back of my shirt.

"If it's too dangerous for us, being the mature upperclassmen that we are, we certainly cannot in good conscience let you do whatever it is you are doing." George and Fred latched onto me by wrapping their arms around my shoulders.

"Let me go." I snarled, trying to elbow them away from me.

Harry had already gotten hurt, I wouldn't let my best friends get hurt too. They looked at each other and sighed. "Nora, in all seriousness, what are you looking for?" They asked quietly as we made our way through the halls.

"I can't tell you, because then you'll be in danger." I saw Dumbledore talking to Lockhart and both of the teachers looked at me. I glared at the bumbling idiot of a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. I pulled away from the twins and sprinted to the library, finding the book I needed and hiding in the restricted section.

I was close to finding out what was in the Chamber. There was a mass exodus of spiders, the water, Mrs. Norris…" I felt like I knew what it was, but it eluded me.

"Nora?" Someone asked from outside the grate.

"Neville?" I stood up and shut the book. I slipped out of the Restricted Section and Neville looked at me, confused.

"What were you doing in there?" He reached to take my book and I moved it away from him.

"In the words of Hermione, 'just a little light reading'." He laughed and escorted me to the Great Hall to eat lunch. I shimmied the thick book into my backpack and heard it knock over my stash of fireworks.

I sat down with Neville and he went on a babbling one sided conversation about how Professor Sprout had told him he could start doing a little extra botanist work with her since he was really interested in it.

I was staring into my soup and tuning out Neville unconsciously.

_Spiders, water, writing, Mrs. Norris… _I repeated it over and over again.

Someone tapped my shoulder and I jumped, dropping my spoon to splash gravy all over the place.

"Ms. Black, I think you and I need to have words about your attitude of late." Snape had an air of annoyance about him.

"Fine." I put my spoon down and grabbed my backpack, telling Neville goodbye.

We walked in silence down to his potion classroom.

"Is this about me smarting off to Professor Lockhart?"

"Yes… and no." He sat down heavily in his chair.

"What is it?" I was aggravated and I wanted to figure out what was in that stupid Chamber of Secrets. I wanted Harry's arm to be fixed, I didn't want his to have to go through that pain.

"You need to learn to learn to hold your tongue around your elders." I pulled out my potions homework and dropped it on his desk.

He flipped through it and gave me a curt nod.

"What was the second half of this little heart to heart that I'm sure McGonagall put you up to?"

"I know that you are looking for the monster in the Chamber of Secrets." I nodded and looked in the cabinets for lace wing flies.

"Do you know what it is? Because it'd be absolutely fantastic if you could tell me, I feel like it's right under my nose, I just don't know what it is."

"Nora." I looked at him, he rarely used my first name. "Stop looking for the Chamber of Secrets."

"But Dumbledore-"

"It is a fool's errand you've been sent on by an old mad man."

"Sir, I don't think that finding the Chamber of Secrets is a fool's errand. It's obvious that whatever is in there is dangerous and needs to be taken care of."

I crossed my arms. "I'm not looking to go out and slay a dragon. I don't want to be front page news. I just want to help make my home a safer place."

"You consider this place your home?" He asked in a surprised tone, well as surprised as Snape's nasally voice could get.

"Of course I do, don't you?"

I couldn't sleep. Harry was all alone re-growing his bones in the infirmary. I slipped on my worn tennis shoes and snuck out of the dormitory.

I was almost to the stairs when I heard running water. My feet were soon soaked. I looked down and saw a person, still as stone lying in the middle of the rushing water.

Dropping to my knees I felt for a pulse. There was none, but that didn't mean he was dead. I realized it was Colin Creevy, the first year who was always taking photos of Harry and everything else that captured his fancy.

I bit my lip and pulled out my wand. I conjured a fluttering paper crane and sent it off soaring quickly to the Headmaster. I shook Colin to try and get a response. I drug him out of the water and dried off his robes. He must be freezing. I didn't know exactly what being petrified felt like, I guess I should have asked Neville after Hermione did it to him so they could escape to the vaults holding the philosopher's stone. McGonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore came running up the steps. I stood up.

"I found him like this, I was on my way to see Harry." No reason to lie now.

"We must get him to the Infirmary." I helped the professors carry Colin to the hospital. Madame Pomfrey ushered us to a bed.

Colin looked so small and young lying there. I _had _to find out about what was doing this to the students. I looked over at Harry. He was acting like he was asleep but I could tell he heard every word Dumbledore said about the Chamber of Secrets being open again and how Hogwarts was no longer safe.

When the teacher's left, I strolled over to Harry and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"Drop the act, Harry James Potter." His eyes popped open quickly.

"Guess I'm a pretty bad fake sleeper, huh?" I nodded. "The Chamber of Secrets is real?"

"Yes." I looked at the disheveled state of his hospital bed. "Was someone in here?"

Harry looked around to make sure no one could hear us in the dark infirmary. "That blasted House Elf, Dobby, was here. He's the one who closed off the gateway to platform nine and three quarters, and he's the one who sent that Bludger after me."

"Why?" I'd have to let that Elf have a piece of my mind.

"He knew about the plan to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"He wanted to keep you safe?" Maybe he wasn't all bad, but he sure had a way of helping Harry out.

"I guess, but he sure has a way of telling me to stay at number four Privet Drive."

"Get some sleep, Harry, I hear growing your arm back is a real pain in the neck." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Goodnight, Nora. Wait, that person you brought in, was that Colin?" I sighed.

"Yeah, I found him when I snuck out to see if you were okay."

"What is doing this?" I shrugged.

"You're going to have to figure that out because I'm stumped."

I had helped make a scene in Potions so Hermione could get the last ingredients for her Polyjuice potion. Throwing a filibuster firework into Crabbe's cauldron was the most fun thing I'd done for a long time. She refused to have me help her make the potion. She was too proud to have me help her.

Now I was sitting in the Great Hall eating lunch with the twins and Neville. Fred and George were talking excitedly about their next prank, something to do with the prefects' bathroom and toilet seats. I tuned them out and kept mulling over what I knew about the monster in the Chamber of Secrets.

_Wet, Slytherin, Petrified, Creepy, and Hidden. _

"Nora!" The twins yelled at me.

"What!" I yelled back.

"You're not paying attention to us!" I nodded.

"You got that right, I don't feel good. I'm going to go lie down." I grabbed my books and stormed out.

The longer it took me to find out what was in the Chamber, the worse my attitude got. I was snippy and rude to a lot of people. I smarted off to Snape this morning and got another detention. It brought my grand total to about thirty since school started.

I was stewing all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. I wanted to find this thing before someone else got hurt. McGonagall walked around the corner and I tried not to cast such a dark cloud of hate.

"Miss Black, I'd assume you're staying here for the Holidays."

"Yes, Professor," she checked my name off of her list and I went to continue on my way but she spoke up again.

"Nora," I sighed, it's always bad when a Professor uses your first name. I turned towards her. "Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that Professor Lockhart and Snape are having a little Dueling Club this afternoon, he thought you might want to join."

"I'm sure I will." I clenched my books tighter. "Sorry, I mean thank you for telling me, if you'll excuse me, I don't feel too well."

"Good day, Ms. Black."

"Bye, professor."

I sat with Andi up in my secret room, I skipped charms today so I could have some free time before I went to the stupid dueling club.

A letter dropped from a little owl that soared in.

I flipped over the post card from London. Sawyer had written to me. I smiled and dug around in my knapsack for the book I was keeping all my post cards and letters from Sawyer in. I had similar notebooks for my other friends. I also grabbed a card that I had stashed from Hogsmead and scrawled him a little response on the back of a Honeyduke's sweet shop card and sent it off with the same quick little owl.

The bells chimed and Andi and I made out way down to the side hall that was being used for the dueling. The crowd filed in and I stayed with Fred, George, and Harry. The girls swooned as Lockhart walked along the mat, asking if we could all hear and see him. He tossed away his stupid powder blue cape. The girls who caught it squealed. I leaned against George's shoulder.

"Do you feel better?" He asked quietly as Fred talked to Harry about wanting to kick some Slytherin butt.

"What?"

"You said earlier that you didn't feel good, and Harry said you missed class."

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good."

Up on the mat, Lockhart was challenging Snape to a duel. I leaned up and readjusted my bag.

"This is gonna be good." Fred grinned mischievously. I moved closer to the mat, standing between Harry and Ron. I noticed Ron's ears turn more pink than usual as I watched the teachers go through the formalities of dueling.

Snape turned and completely kicked Lockhart's butt. Disarming him and throwing him back on his hindquarters.

"Go Snape!" I cheered, everyone turned and looked at me like I was Fluffy.

"Very well, Professor Snape, but let's be honest, it was pretty obvious what you were going to do."

"Maybe it would be more pertinent to teach the students defensive spells."

"Yes, of course, of course. I need two volunteers." Gilderoy Lockhart scanned the crowd. "Potter, Weasley." Harry went to the steps at the end of the platform and Ron stayed where he was.

"No, Weasley's wand is still broken. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house?"

"Of course." We all watched as Snape gestured for Malfoy to get up to duel. "Purely defensive spells!"

Malfoy sent Harry flying backwards. I pushed my way through the crowd. I pulled out my wand. I felt three hands pull me back; the twins and Ron all had a hold on my robes.

"Let him fight this one out." Fred murmured.

Harry rebounded the spell and Malfoy fell with a satisfying thud. Malfoy got up, angry. He shot a cobra at Harry. Lockhart tried to take care of it, all he did was throw it up in the air and freak out everyone in the room.

I watched, mesmerized as Harry spoke a calmly, hissing language to the snake. The reptile swayed back and forth, between looking at Harry and Justin. Snape muttered a curse and the snake burnt up. The room was silent. I grabbed Harry and we ran out of the hall. Hermione and Ron on our heels.

I pulled him into a reading room and started to pace. "Harry!"

"Nora, calm down!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were a parselmouth?" Ron asked, almost mad.

"A what?"

"You were speaking the snake language." Hermione said.

"I set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once, once! I bet loads of people here can do it."

I leaned against the wall and watched this. I was so afraid that people would alienate Harry more than they already do. This school was his home, these were the only friends he had.

"It's not a very common gift Harry. This is bad."

"What's bad? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

"That's what you told it to do?" Ron said in disbelief.

"Of course! You heard me, Nora, I was standing right in front of you."

"I heard you speaking a different language." I said softly.

"How can I speak a different language and not even know I'm doing it?"

"I don't know, but it looked like you were egging it on, Harry. Listen to me; there's a reason the symbol of the Slytherin house is a serpent." She paused to take a breath before spewing more facts at us. I moved closer to hear Hermione better. "Salazar Slytherin was a parcel mouth. He could talk to snakes, too."

"Now everybody thinks you're his great-great-grandson or something!" Ron said.

"That's impossible." Harry looked at me for reassurance that I couldn't give him.

"He lived over five thousand years ago, for all we know, you could be." My brain clicked and I knew what could be in the chamber.

I was sitting in the Library, doing homework. It was uncomfortable in the silence. I started to pack up my books, sliding the newest monster book I had into the depths of my bag.

Harry stood up. "I think I'll go, too." He grabbed his books. "See you back at the common room."

I looked back at all the people gawking at Harry. I glared at them and they looked away quickly.

"Harry, I just want you to know-" I started but Harry was looking around like he heard something I didn't.

"Did you hear that?" I shook my head. He took off running. We rounded a corner and stopped so suddenly I slipped on the damp floor.

"Nearly headless Nick!" I stood up and looked at the ghost suspended in midair, head tilting off to the side.

"Justin!" Harry ran to the boy lying cold and still on the ground. I kneeled on his other side and tried to wake him up. I knew he was petrified by the same thing that got Colin.

"He's petrified, like the others." Filch came around the corner and sneered.

"I got you two this time, mark my words."

"Mr. Filch! You don't understand!" The caretaker ran off and Harry and I stayed with Justin until McGonagall came back with him.

"Professor! Harry didn't do anything!" I stood protectively in front of him.

"Ms. Black, I'll need you both to come with me." She looked at both of us sadly.

She took us to Dumbledore's office. Harry was amazed with the spinning staircase.

He and I went into the warm room. I walked straight to the photo I had found my first time here. The two boys continued to playfully shove each other over what I had found out was the house cup. Harry was talking softly to the sorting hat. I picked up the picture and tried to figure out why I was so drawn to it. I was sure that the one man with the glasses was Harry's father. The other one I had no clue of.

"Nora!" Harry pointed at Fawkes who had burst into flames.

"It's okay, he'll come back soon out of the ashes."

"Very good, Nora, I see you've been listening to Hagrid."

"Andromeda hasn't done it yet, she won't for a while, though." I sat the picture down and took a seat to watch Dumbledore talk to Harry about the petrifications.

Hagrid burst in, "NORA AND HARRY DIDN'T DO IT!" We all jumped. Hagrid was holding the latest victim of his mass rooster genocide. He would go out and two or three a night would be gone or dead.

"Hagrid!" Dumbledore tried to interrupt.

"I'd be willing to swear it in front of the Ministry of Magic!"

"HAGRID!" Dumbledore yelled. "I know they did not do it." Hagrid looked at me and shook his head.

"Of course, I'll just be leaving you alone now." He nodded again and left.

"Harry, Nora." I stood next to Harry.

"Yes, sir?" We said together.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" We shook our heads.

"Alright, then you may go, but stay safe."

I glanced back at the picture before I grabbed the door handle. "Sir?" I asked closing the door after Harry had left.

"Yes?" He was holding the newly re-born Fawkes.

"You said that Salazar Slytherin put a monster in the Chamber of Secrets only he could control, correct?" Dumbledore nodded.

"That is what the legend says, but Nora, that was five thousand years ago, this could be a completely different beast all together."

"Okay, I will continue looking." I hesitated before turning again to face the headmaster to ask him about the man in the picture- he was gone. I shook my head. "Strange old man." I shut the door softly behind me.

"Nora! What were you doing wandering about the halls with Harry!?" Hagrid fussed. I sighed. Harry gave me an apologetic look.

"We were walking back to the common room, I thought it's be safer than just letting Harry go by himself." We walked at a brisk pace, well Harry and I had to hurry along to keep up with Hagrid's lumbering steps.

"I still do not want anything bad ta happen ta the two of ya. This happened when I was in school, and one o' my classmates died."

"What?" Harry and I interjected.

"I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that." He shook his head making the mass of wiry black hair toss around.

"Who died, Hagrid?"

"You two do not need to worry about that." We were standing in front of the fat lady.

"Hagrid, it's imperative you tell us what happened so we can kill it and stop these attacks."

"The staff is taking care of it, I don't want you, either of you to mess around with the monster in the Chamber of Secrets."

"But-"

"No buts, Nora." Hagrid nodded to us and walked away, dead rooster swinging from his belt.

Harry said the password and we climbed into the common room. Everyone swarmed us, asking questions and asking what we'd been doing together.

The twins grabbed me and pulled me out of the pack.

"So Nora, we hear that you and Potter are the heirs of Slytherin now," I rolled my eyes.

"Of course, we have matching hats." They pulled me farther away from the group and sat me down. Hermione and Ron fought off the others to talk to Harry.

"But really, though," Fred said leaning closer to me.

"Did you and Potter petrify Justin?" George finished the sentence.

"No." I stood up and briskly walked up to my room. Andi cawed and flew after me.

I was pulling out all the books I had borrowed illegally from the library onto the librarian's desk. Flitwick had caught me shoving a stack of tomes into my bag without permission so now I was on my third wobbly stack of books. I dug around a little more, my fingers brushing against my pranks and fireworks and the prototypes of some gags the twins had thought up. I pulled out one more book and put in on the corner of the desk.

"Here you go, that's all I have, can I go? It's Christmas eve." The ghost librarian gave me a wary look and nodded. "Happy Christmas!" I called as I left even though I was furious that I had lost all the research I had done these past few weeks.

The Christmas feast was about to start. I ducked into a secret passage and jumped out behind a suit of armor near the great hall doors. I slipped in and tried to find somewhere to sit. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the twins were all sitting together. I looked around the room, there weren't very many people staying here this Christmas. I happened to see a lone boy from Slytherin sitting at the far end of the table. I sighed and walked towards him. The twins gave me bewildered looks as I grabbed a plate and stood in front of the boy.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked. He jolted up from the daydream he'd been in.

"U-uh, no, it's not."

"Good." I sat on the bench and my plate filled with food. I dug in and stuffed my face.

"Why are you sitting here?" The boy asked, watching me eat.

"Because there's a seat to sit in?"

"I don't want your pity, Gryffindor." I rolled my eyes and drank some pumpkin juice.

"I'm not into pity, my name is Nora."

"Why aren't you sitting with your friends? I think the Weasley twins might explode by the look on their faces."

I turned and waved to my friends. Fred and George looked absolutely furious.

"They'll get over it." Andi soared in and perched on the table, begging for food like a street urchin. I tossed her some ham and she climbed up my sleeve and sat on my head. Leaning down so her face was in my way; she wanted more food. The boy laughed at her antics. I sighed and held out the rind of my ham.

"I'm Thatcher, by the way." I smiled at him.

"Glad to see we're finally introduced." I saw Hermione hand Harry and Ron two chocolate cakes and they stood up and left. Those must be to take care of Crabbe and Goyle.

I really didn't mind that I wasn't involved in their infiltration of the Slytherin house. I had enough on my plate already. I had to go back into the library and get a book on ancient monsters. I knew it had to been a serpent.

I knew it was dangerous, and I knew that I had to take care of it before anyone else got hurt.

I just needed to figure out how to kill whatever the monster was.

I was creeping out of the library when I heard voices. I hid behind a sculpture of a pig as the boys walked past.

"Hermione should be out of the hospital in a few days, just as soon as she stops coughing up hairballs." It was Harry and Ron, back from their escapade. I quietly followed them.

"Boo!" I scared them.

"Nora!" They both yelled.

"Sorry, I now realize how mean that was, considering all the attacks and everything." I took one of each of their hands and swung our arms. "How did your little escapade go?"

"Good, made me hate Malfoy all the more though." I stepped in some water and it soaked my shoes.

"Looks like Myrtle's flooded the bathroom." I grumbled. We ran in and the moaning ghost was sobbing her high pitched sobs.

"Come to throw something else at me?"

"What?" Harry asked.

"There I was, minding my own business when someone threw a book through my head." She burst into tears.

"But it can't hurt you if someone throws something at you, it'll just go right through you." Ron said.

"Let's all throw books at Myrtle now, ten points if it goes through her stomach, fifty if it goes through her head!" She punched Ron through the stomach and head.

Harry picked up a black journal from the ground.

I reached to take it from him, he pulled it away. "I want to look it over." I shrugged. I would just get it from him some other time. It was really weird that someone would try and flush a journal down the toilet…

I rolled out of bed and stretched. I looked over at Andi and sighed. She had already taken over my warm spot. I ripped a brush through my curls and got dressed in my school uniform. The other girls were already gone, a little unusual, but I was too tired to care.

I set a foot in the common room and realized why all the girls were gone; it was Valentine's Day. I growled and went to walk back up the steps, I didn't have class today anyway. The twins barred my way.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Nora Black." Both of them held out a small package.

"What is it?" I said, taking the little box from them.

"A token of our appreciation for your obvious adoration." I looked at them and sighed. I pulled the string off and crumpled the paper. I lifted the lid and the contents sprung out at me. Hundreds of paper hearts burst forth and blinded me. I shut the lid, spit out the little pieces of paper and glared at them. I sat the box down and quickly walked away, out the common room and into a secret passage.

I hated Valentine's Day.

I sat at the table in the Great Hall, pushing around my heart shaped food. There was a clang in front of me; a dwarf stood dressed as a cupid with one foot in the pudding and the other in my oatmeal. He strummed an out of tune harp.

"What is this?" I leaned back and took in the entire bizarre scene before me. The dwarf cleared his throat and strummed the instrument he had in his hands again.

The twins bumped into either side of me. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer, Nora." They said together. I stared at the dwarf as he crooned an off-key love ballad to me before handing me an enchanted paper heart which revealed a message when I opened it. He stepped out of the bowls of food and left sticky little footprints as he climbed down the other side of the table. I put the valentine in my bag without even looking at it.

"Aren't you going to read it?" George urged as I reached to get a bowl of oatmeal that hadn't had a diapered dwarf foot in it.

"Not right now with you two nosy sods about." I slid two eggs into my bowl of bacon, toast, and oatmeal before I stood up.

"Aren't you even the tiniest bit curious as to who it's from?" Fred said, leaning on the table backwards. "And that mish mosh of food looks disgusting."

"No." I reached between the twins to grab my drink and a spoon. "And sod off."

"You have to be!" I shook my head.

"It's the first valentine I've gotten, what's the big deal about who it's from?" I turned on my heel and hurried away with my food.

I had never gotten a valentine before! I was going to go up to my secret hideaway and find out who it was from.

I plopped down on the pile of pillows and blankets. I sat my food down on the floor and grabbed out the heart shaped red paper. I took a deep breath and opened it;

**Dear Nora Black, **

**You're wit's charming, **

**You're smile's divine. **

**On this Valentine 's Day, **

**Won't you be mine?**

**~A Secret Admirer**

**P.S. meet me by the pig statue on the third floor at four o'clock. **

I smiled in spite of myself. An owl flew through the window and dropped a thick stack of post into my lap.

There was a valentine from Sawyer, it looked like an old wizarding one, with enchanted hearts bubbling up from the paper to burst with a sweet scent of caramel. There was a knock at the door. I jumped up- not in fear of the knock but that someone had found my secret hideaway. I went to the door.

"Who is it?" I heard a nervous shuffling of feet.

A quiet voice piped up from the other side, "It's um, Neville," I opened the door and smiled.

"Hey, Neville!" I ushered him into my inner sanctum.

He handed me a flower that moved around examining the room.

"Happy valentine's day." The boy blushed beet red and looked away from me. I kissed him on the cheek and he turned even redder.

"You too," I tucked the flower into my backpack and left my secret room.

I was hiding a little way down from where I was supposed to meet my 'Secret Admirer'. I tapped my foot nervously. I didn't know if this was a trick or it was real and I was terrified of both. Lots of students passed the statue and kept on walking. My heart thumped harder against my chest the closer to four it got. I looked over again at the hog statue and sighed; no one was there as the bells chimed four. I stepped out of my hiding spot and went to walk past the statue up to the common room when someone yelled.

"Nora! Nora! Stop!" Dean Thomas was being frog walked down the steps by the Weasley twins. I readjusted my knapsack and watched them. Dean was pushed in front of me and he was blushing, avoiding all eye contact.

"You sent me the valentine?" I held up the paper. Dean ruffled his short hair and nodded.

"Yeah."

The twins nudged him closer to me. "Okay." I shrugged and turned to leave when Dean grabbed my hand.

"I did mean it, you're really amazing, Nora." I smiled.

The twins cleared their throats together.

"And," he added, "Would you like to go to Honeydukes with me on the next holiday?"

"We're only second years, Dean. We're not allowed to go down there." Even though I had been going with the twins via the One-Eyed Witch passage since last year.

"We give you two free reign over the secret passages to get down there." I glared at the twins.

I rolled my eyes and put my arm through Dean's and marched him away from the ginger pests. "Let's get something straight." Dean felt warm against my side and I liked it. I let his arm go when we had rounded the corner.

"What is it?" He ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously and grabbed the back of his neck.

"You shouldn't have sent that valentine." He went to speak, "Don't get me wrong, it was really sweet, but I'm 13 and while crushes are supposed to be what I'm into nowadays, it's not." I paused to take a breath and Dean took it as a chance to speak.

"I was just going to say that the twins overheard me talking about wanting to send you a valentine so they did it."

"What?" We had reached the Fat Lady's picture.

"If you don't like me, I understand, it's better really." He laughed humorlessly, "Pretty sure Seamus would skin me alive if he found out. He's pretty smitten with you." I groaned and said the password; _Felix Felicius._

I walked through the common room and my phoenix flew to me, draped in heart garland and glitter. I dusted her head off and sighed. Pulling out my wand with a sharp flick, all the decoration she'd tangled herself in were gone.

"Blasted bird." I ruffled her feathers and she cooed.

I was brewing a draft of what I had concluded would wake up the petrification victims when Snape burst in, making me add too much lacewing fly. The potion bubbled over and I growled.

"What-" I snapped at him, "-is your major malfunction, professor?" He looked at the mess I'd made.

"Clean that up, Black." I pulled out my wand and the charred mess was taken care of.

I put my supplies away a little more forcefully than was necessary and made a few corrections on the notes I was working on.

My cauldron clattered to the floor when Andi apparated on the desk. She was still getting used to being able to do that.

"Get that blasted animal out of the potions room." She preened a few of her precious tail feathers out and hopped to the professor's desk and sat them in front of him; a peace offering. He waved her away.

"Professor, what's wrong?" He looked over at me and shook his head.

"If there are any more attacks, Dumbledore will be removed from Hogwarts pending an investigation and search of the entire school."

"What?" I slammed my backpack down. "How stupid can they be? Dumbledore is the greatest wizard the world has ever known if he can't protect us, who will?"

"You must not tell anyone else about this, Nora, there would be too many rumors spread throughout the school." I ground my teeth together and looked over at the shelves of potion ingredients floating in their jars of colorful liquid.

"Fine." I finally said after a deep breath and grabbed my bag, calling Andi to me. "Good day professor, I hope to see you at the Quidditch match."

I was sitting outside the Gryffindor Quidditch tent waiting for my friends to get out. I picked at a splinter as I thought about all the facts I knew about the Monster in the Chamber of Secrets. It was obviously a snake, but how big? What kind? Did it have any weaknesses? These questions spun endlessly in my head until Harry walked out behind Wood and I stood up. McGonagall hurried over.

"This match has been cancelled."

Wood was livid, "You can't just cancel Quidditch-"

"Not know Mr. Wood. Mr. Potter, Ms. Black, would you please come with me please, we need to find Mr. Weasley."

My stomach twisted into a knot, "Hermione." I whispered. I hadn't seen her since before I went to the potions room, she had been going to the library.

"Yes, Ms. Black, Ms. Granger and Ms. Clearwater have been the latest victims." We rushed to the infirmary.

Hermione was laying on a bed, her hand raised as if she had been holding something. McGonagall held up Harry's hand mirror I'd given him last Christmas.

"Does this mean anything to the any of you?" I looked at Harry he shrugged.

"Hermione said she wanted to borrow a mirror for something." He took it and slid it into his Quidditch robe pocket.

I felt like this was all my fault. I needed to get that monster. I was pacing in Dumbledore's office. I had come here to get a straight answer out him about what happened last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened.

I heard voice outside the door and I hid behind the headmaster's desk.

"…He must be removed, Dumbledore." The door opened.

"Cornelius, we both know that Hagrid did not open the Chamber."

"The evidence suggested otherwise last time all this happened, and as I might remind you, last time a student's life was taken by the monster." Dumbledore sat down in his chair. He bumped into me and I watched in fear as he casually knocked a quill off his desk. He leaned down and saw me. Winking, I sighed.

"No need to remind me of that, Minster," He picked up the quill and sat upright.

"I saw we go down and remove the groundskeeper at once, the sooner the better." I gasped. Dumbledore tapped his fingers against his chair arm, dropping a scrap of paper. I grabbed it, scanning the words quickly.

_Go to Hagrid's with the utmost haste. _

He stood up and walked around the desk. I crawled out and listened for the two men to move away.

"Might I interest you in a drink, Cornelius? It might help relieve some of the burden of telling an innocent man he's guilty for the second time." Dumbledore put a hand on the Minister of Magic's shoulder and turned him away. With his other hand, he gestured for me to run. I padded across the room and opened the door. As I slipped out, I heard Dumbledore smooth over why the door had opened and shit on its own.

Why would they think that Hagrid had opened the Chamber of Secrets? I used one of the secret passages that let out under the Whomping Willow. The twins and I had discovered that it not only went to the school but also all the way to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmead. I petrified the murderous bush and scampered out of the hole, getting dirt on my palm and my robes where my knees dug in. I ran through the cold grass towards the flickering light of Hagrid's hut.

I was out of breath when I pounded on the door. Hagrid rustled around inside, talking quietly to someone, or something, I hadn't been down to watch his newest creature hatch. He opened the door a crack and I weaseled myself inside.

"Hagrid! They've come to take you away." I pulled my wild hair back and left smudges of dirt on my face in the process.

"Who, Nora? Why are you out of the school at this time of night?" I shook my head.

"Fudge! He's come with orders to take you in until the monster in the Chamber of Secrets has been killed and you've been found innocent." I caught the ripple by the fireplace. I didn't turn my head but I kept looking at that area. It kept shimmering. I grabbed a fistful of the silky material of the invisibility cloak to reveal Ron and Harry.

There was a knock at the door. "Hagrid." Dumbledore drew out the name, giving us time to hide. I pulled the invisibility cloak over the three of us students and held my breath, hoping none of our bodies were showing.

"Come in." Hagrid opened the door and let the two men in.

"Good evening, Hagrid." Fudge looked around with a look of disgust on his face I wanted to smack off.

"No need for pleasantries, I know why you're here," Hagrid sighed.

As if this moment couldn't get any better, Mr. Ponytail himself swaggered in. "Lucius, I did not expect to find you here at this time." Dumbledore knew what was up to, but he wasn't sharing with the class.

"Headmaster, I've come with a letter signed by all the school governors that wants you off the school grounds, along with your-" He pointed at Hagrid, "Whatever his title is at this school, pending investigation into the events taken place here this year." Dumbledore nodded.

"I see. And the other governors signed this letter willingly?" Lucius smirked and nodded. The Headmaster looked around the hut, eyes stopping on where I had hidden the three of us.

"I would just like to make a remark; Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who need it." He nodded and walked out of the room, humming a song that sounded vaguely familiar. Hagrid tried to pass off the same tone of nonchalantness but failed; "If uh, anyone would be looking for answers, all they'd have to do would be to follow the spiders, yes, that's it, follow the spiders." He went to walk out the door and stopped. "And someone'll have to feed fang." He nodded and walked out. When the door closed behind Fudge, I threw off the cloak and paced back and forth.

"You two need to get back up to the school, go on. Go. I'll feed Fang and be up in a minute." They hesitated and I pointed to the door. "Put on the cloak." They left and I grabbed some meat for Fang to eat. He gnawed it, growling softly. I looked around the entire hut for a line of spiders. I found nothing until I got to the broken side window, there was a perfect line of spiders crawling up the wall and out. I pulled out my wand and went outside to follow them.

I lost the line of spiders. I had followed them into the Forbidden Forest for half an hour or more. I kept walking in the same general direction that I thought they had been going. Keeping an eye out for a trail of spiders, I had neglected to realize I had wandered into a clearing.

"Why are you here?" Someone asked with the most alluring voice I'd ever heard. I spun around trying to see who was talking.

"Who's there?" There was not a sound. I heard my breathing speed up.

"I asked why you wandered into my hunting ground." My throat tightened.

"Vampire." I turned and standing in front of me was the least vampire looking bloodsucker I'd ever seen.

"You must be the top of you class." He laughed humorlessly and pushed his dark curly hair back to reveal an ear that was slightly pointed and fingernails that were blunt and coal black. I shivered at the thought of his cold skin, like that of a corpse. "For the last time, why are you here? Do you wish to be one of the undead? Do you want to fall in love with a vampire? I can assure you it is nothing like what that idiotic American movie saga portrayed it." I laughed a little and stopped when I saw his nostrils flare and throat clench.

"I'm looking for anyone who knows anything about the monster that lives in Hogwarts." I backed away from him and he moved back, too.

"Which one?" He said softly, sitting on a stump. His black eyes pierced mine.

"I shouldn't be surprised that there are more than one in the school. The Chamber of Secrets, I know it has to be a serpent but I have no clue as to what animal would petrify people." I watched him pull at a loose thread on the frayed edge of his shirt cuff.

"A basilisk, giant snake, very bad, you're going to have a hard time getting rid of that one, 'specially if it's as old as Salazar Slytherin." He looked back up at me and I couldn't move. I wasn't petrified, I didn't think. He lithely walked over to me. My heart hammered against my chest. I felt my blood quicken in my veins. He acted pained as he pushed one side of my hair off my shoulder.

"What are you doing? I'm Nora, by the way." I heard the unsteady and scared tone flow out of my mouth.

"I don't want to do this, you understand, Nora. I'm Wilhelm. I don't usually drink human blood, I survive on creatures out of the forest, but with that bloody Basilisk out and about, the only thing to eat have been spiders and centaurs, both are very unappetizing. But you, you fine young morsel come strutting in here clueing for looks, if you allow an old vamp his Sherlock references. I've not drank in weeks, I like all other things eat to survive. Self-preservation comes before free will these days." He held onto my shoulders and looked absolutely devastated at the idea of drinking my blood.

"Wilhelm, don't do it, you can live for millennia without drinking. I've come across a book on vampires in my quest to find the basilisk." He shook his head and his grip on my shoulders tightened to the point of pain. I sucked in a breath and he looked away from me.

"I've been fighting this for a long time. A _very_ long time." He bit his lip, two sharp teeth in his otherwise pristine mouth glistened in the moonlight.

"Promise me you will rid the area of the basilisk so that I may return to living off animals. Maybe then I can leave you to live and die a mortal." He still held onto my shoulder.

"I promise, my friends are all in danger, too. Now that I know what I am fighting, it has made the job much easier, thank you." There was a crash behind us. Gisborne stood gleaming with sweat. He panted and looked at the vampire and I.

"Get away from her, parasite." He growled. Wilhelm's fingernails dug into my skin through my clothes.

"Filthy half-breed." The centaur charged and the vampire yanked me out of the way. Something scraped my face and for a moment I thought everything was fine.

It started as a stinging sensation in my face as I tried to stand up to leave the two fighting boys alone. Then my head started to go fuzzy. I saw Wilhelm look over at me and I couldn't stand up. I held my hand up against my face, my fingers came back slick with dark blood tinged with a silver liquid. Gisborne was yelling at someone, but everything sounded like it was underwater. I looked up at the stars and fell backwards into the grass. Gisborne scooped me up and galloped through the forest. I screamed when the venom met my circulation. I convulsed in his arms.

He reached the edge of the school grounds. There were only a few lights on I noticed before my body almost seized out of Gisborne's arms. I cried out and held my face. Everything was burning. I closed my eyes and blacked out.

But even in the dark I felt the pain. I felt the scared jerky movements of Gisborne as he tried to find a way to the school grounds.

"..Andi…" I whimpered. He asked me something that I couldn't hear.

I felt him run some more and stopped. He took my wand and petrified the tree. I heard a shrill squawk and then my body was sucked via apparition somewhere else. I thrashed around. I clawed at my face and screamed out. I felt many hands grab onto my legs and arms. I forced my eyes open and saw the nurse and several teachers circled around me. It took a moment when one side of my human restraints were weak and turned to one side, retching on the floor from pain. I screamed out again and my back arched. I saw the teacher's mouths move but all I could hear was the thunderous rush of blood in my ears. My heart erratically beat around, stopping and starting in no specific order. Someone held my head still so my wounded cheek was facing upwards. It burned to have anyone touch it. I felt a cool sensation flood the wound felt much better but my blood still boiled in my veins. I saw Snape and grabbed his arm. Through the fog I saw fear in his eyes.

"...Basilisk. Chamber." I let go of his sleeve and groaned.

"Help her, Severus." McGonagall pleaded. I felt Madame Pomfrey force a vile potion in my mouth and clamp my mouth closed so I couldn't spit it back out. It burnt my throat along with my already in pain body.

I fell unconscious, I wasn't thrashing around anymore but my pain intensified.

I don't know how long I was under that potion. Silently screaming in the darkness. I felt my fingers get colder, like I was in the snow for too long.

Just before I couldn't hang on anymore, there was someone holding my jaw so I couldn't move and something poured into my mouth. I gagged a little and as it went to my stomach, the pain went away with it. I was still on the bed.

Someone was snoring in my ear. I moved away and was met with a hard thump to my forehead. I groaned and touched my head. My entire body ached liked I had run into a nest of fire sprites.

I opened my eyes and smacked the Weasley twins away from my bed in the hospital wing. They groaned and wiped the drool off of their faces. I rubbed my eyes again and sat up. When they realized I was conscious they hugged me together, crushing me between them. When they relented to let me go, I rubbed my face. The twins looked at each other and then at me, then away.

"What, what is it?" I thought they were just messing around until I went to look at my face in the mirror on my nightstand. Fred grabbed it away and pressed it against his chest. I threw off my blankets and went to get out of bed. Madame Pomfrey came over and shooed away the boys. I was forced back into bed and given some more of the vile potion that had saved my life. I felt my face again. There were a few slight lines on my cheek that I thought had been from sleeping on the pillow.

"What's on my face?" The nurse sighed and handed me a little compact mirror from her pocket. I looked into it and saw I had four pale scars about two inches long on my cheek bone.

"They won't go away, we've tried everything. Snape's been working day and night, but vampire venom is resistant to almost everything. It's a miracle Professor Snape was able to make that Nightlock potion as an antidote. That bird of yours is not a slouch either, she came in and healed up the bite, but there are even things Phoenix tears cannot heal." I handed back the mirror and nodded dumbly.

She brushed the hair off my forehead and gave me a sad grin.

"Everything will be fine, Nora, you're an amazingly strong young woman to be able to stave off Vampire venom as long as you did, most would have succumb in minutes." A large bat swooped in and landed on my bed. The Nurse went to raise her wand to it, but I stopped her. The bat dropped my wand halfway wrapped in brown paper and awkwardly dropped off the bed so it could take back off into the morning light. I pulled off the paper and smoothed it out.

_Nora._

_I cannot express the deep anger and self-hatred that has festered inside of me since I wounded you. I have heard from others that you have survived and are expected to make a full recovery. Of that I am glad, I have also felt the presence of the basilisk no more in the Forbidden Forest. _

_P.S. You must stop going into the Forbidden Forest as far as you did, I am not the worst thing hidden in the darkness. _

I took a series of quick gasps and grabbed my wand. I ran out of the hospital wing, my bare feet slapping the cold stones of the halls and steps.

Outside I kept running, the letter crumbled in my fist. My legs were unsteady, I didn't know how long I had been asleep since the accident. I ran to the edge of the forest and waited. As I held my breath I scanned the undergrowth.

"Gisborne." I said softly, stepping into the new growth on the forest floor. The centaur stepped forward, gleaming in the thin shafts of light.

"I see you are much improved."

"You killed him, didn't you?" I moved closer as he took another hesitant step towards me.

"I may have," he said with the moony tone the half-men half-horse are keen to use.

"Then venom would have been impossible to stop had Wilhelm been alive." I noticed he touch a series of raw scars on his chest and upper arm. I touched them gently, turning my face up to him.

"He violated the law," he said it like the proud centaur he wanted to be.

"He threatened me. Why must you deny that fact that you do care for me? We are friends, Gisborne, stop acting like we can't be." He looked down and touched my scarred cheek.

"Nora Black, you are so very strange."

"I'm not the one with a tail." I grinned and he pulled me onto his back and took off towards the Black Lake.


	7. Prisoner of Azkaban part 1

I sighed and rolled over in my bed. It was Harry's birthday soon and I had no idea what I wanted to get him. I sat bolt upright. I wouldn't get him anything! I'd take him to Diagon alley. I rolled out of bed and changed my clothes. Hagrid snored away, mumbling something about his Care of Magical Creatures class. I decided to not tell Harry that I was coming to whisk him away, it would be a lovely surprise. I grabbed my backpack after I wrote my guardian a note telling him where I'd be if he needed me. Andi growled when I shook her to wake her up. She bit my hand and I flicked her beak. She stood up my blankets and flapped her wings.

"We're going to Diagon Alley, Andi." She perched on my shoulder and we walked outside. I was about to give her the order to apparate us to London when I thought I better tell Hagrid.

I shook his shoulder hard, he snorted and looked at me. "Nora? What's the matter?"

"I'm going to get Harry for an early birthday present. Is it okay if we stay there until term starts? The Weasleys are going to be there the week before term starts along with Hermione and her parents."

"Take the Night Bus." He grumbled and I nodded.

"Bye Hagrid." I touched his head and walked out. Andi was scratching at the dirt in the dawning sun.

I walked up to the school and down the passage to Honeydukes cellar. I crept up and snuck out the door before the owners caught me.

Waving my wand like I was hitch-hiking a three decker purple bus appeared down the street and came to a screeching stop in front.

A young man tromped down the steps and looked at a card in his hands.

"Hello, and welcome to the Knight Bus. I am Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for the day." He looked up and grinned.

"Hi, Stan." I said laughing a little and brushed past him to get on the bus.

Stan is Sawyer's best friend. I met him in passing a few times when I was running around with Sawyer in Diagon Alley.

"Oy!" He pointed at my phoenix. "You can't bring that blasted bird on here!"

"She's going to be fine." I sat down on one of the rolling beds and dug around in my backpack to get my mirror out and get ahold of Harry. The bus lurched and I fell forward. Stan caught me and I stood up. I felt myself blush and turned away from the older wizard. I held onto one of the straps and looked into the mirror. Harry showed up bleary eyed and his wild hair even more mused.

"Nora?" He groaned, falling back onto his bed.

"Happy day after your birthday, boy who lived." I smirked at him as he rolled his eyes.

"I got your letter," he held up the hairy book that Hagrid was using as a textbook. "And a present from Hagrid." I laughed as the book squirmed and he dropped it on the ground.

"Have any big plans for the rest of the summer." The bus came to a stop and one of the few other people on got off. I held on tighter as we flew to London.

"Surviving a visit from the gargantuan Aunt Marge tomorrow." I nodded.

"She always brings the party with here, how many dogs is she going to accost number 4 Privet Drive with today?"

"Only one, Ripper, or so she says."

"Well you should be having a grand old time." I jerked back and forth as the bus wove through traffic on the bridge.

"What are you doing?" he craned his neck to try and see my surroundings.

"Oh, here's my stop, catch you later." I tucked the mirror away and winked at Stan as I stepped onto the curb in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

I walked in and heard Sawyer playing his guitar. I looked around to make sure that there weren't very many people who were sober enough to care if I yelled before I said, "Wooowee! Who's that boy up there, is that the new Harry Stiles or what?"

Sawyer looked up and smiled, he dropped his guitar and ran over to me, stopping a few feet away. "Hurt me! Hurt me!" He crooned gesturing to me and fanning his face. "Do my eyes deceive me or is that Renora Black come to call on her non-Hogwarts friend?" I hugged him and when he would usually let go, his hands rested on my waist. I didn't pull away because it felt nice. His voice got lower and he smiled at me this slow, big smile. I brushed his sandy hair out of his blue eyes and his hands were warm on my back.

"Did ya miss me or something?"

"Not at all." I noticed that his t-shirt was one that I had sent his from Hogwarts.

"Nice shirt." He looked down and nodded.

"The girl who got it for me has good taste but no fashion sense." I punched his shoulder playfully. He let me go and we ordered two butter beers.

"How's life in the real world?"

He shrugged and sipped the foam on his drink, it left a slight line of white on his upper lip. I wiped it off with my thumb. "Boring, what brings you to Diagon Alley?"

"I've come to rescue Harry from his horrid aunt, uncle, and cousin."

"You know, I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were in love with Harry Potter." I laughed.

"No, he's like my little brother."

"They all say that right up until they fall madly in love with each other."

"I promise you, that's not going to happen."

I hailed the Knight Bus the next evening after I had eaten dinner with Sawyer in the Leaky Cauldron.

"'ello again. See you brought that stupid animal with you again." Andi hissed at him from where she was perched on my backpack.

"Don't call my bird stupid." I sat down in an armchair that rolled around just as severely as the beds did at night.

"Where to today?"

"Number four Privet drive, little Whinning."

"Got that Ernie?" Stan said as he picked up today's Daily Prophet.

"Hold onto to your bird, girl." The shrunken head cackled as we zipped off. I heard Andi scratch at the material of my backpack for some traction. I grabbed onto the window sill to keep in relatively one place. I saw the headline on the newspaper Stan was holding.

"Who's he?" A mad man screamed from the photo on the front page. His face was sunken and his eyes hollow and dark. I stood up and looked at the picture closer. He reminded of someone but only vaguely.

"Sirius Black? You mean to tell me that in all the time you've been in Diagon Alley and Hogwarts you've never heard of Sirius Black?" I bumped into Stan when the bus hit the break hard to avoid hitting a cat. He grabbed onto my arm and righted me.

"No, what'd he do?"

"Got himself locked up in Azkaban." I shuddered. Hagrid was very cagey when it came talking about his time Azkaban last year when the basilisk ran rampant through the school. Well not ran, it was a giant snake, so I guess it slithered rampant through the school. "But now he's out. The only man who ever escaped from Azkaban."

"For what? You have to give me the whole story, Shunpike."

"He was a big supporter of you know who." He whispered the last part.

"Really? But what about all the other death eaters?"

"They plead that he cursed them into doing those things."

"What about Black?"

"They said the aurors cornered him on a street and he killed thirteen of the muggles."

I looked at the picture, "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" He scoffed. "He killed thirteen muggles. Well there was also a rumor that he sold out the Potters and killed their friend to get to them in Godric's Hollow…" That settled it Sirius Black was my new mission. If he sold out Harry's parents, then he's be after Harry now, too. The bus stopped suddenly again.

"Privet Drive." I ran off the bus. Andi growling when I put her in my backpack. The undetectable extension charm made it possible for me to put her cage in there so that she didn't knock over all the other rubbish I had stacked up. I heard a yowling and barking and a heart wrenched scream. I must have just missed the fun.

Just breaching the roof of the house was the inflated form of one Aunt Marge. She was swollen up like a tick and I laughed as I ran in the house.

The kitchen was a mess, food was everywhere, Vernon was outside calling for his sister, Petunia was watching aghast as her sister in law floated away. The fat young man who I could only assume to be Dudley was eating custard off of his shirt and staring blankly at the television.

"Where's Harry?" I asked him. He looked up at me surprised by my presence.

"Who are you?" I heard a slam of drawers upstairs and ran to the foot.

"Harry!?" I yelled.

"Nora?" He was struggling pulling his trunk down the stairs.

"Where's Hedwig?"

"I let her out the window."

Vernon came storming in, red faced. "You bring her back! You put her right! This instant!" His words were punctuated with pants.

I pulled my wand out and pressed the point against his fat throat. "Back away from Harry. Your sister got what she deserved." I growled. I could vicious and threatening when I wanted to be. Vernon caught a glimpse of my mismatch colored eyes and froze.

"You can't do magic outside of school!" He choked out.

"Harry can't but you'll get no such promise from me." I looked up at Harry who was smiling at my antics. "Go outside Harry, I'll catch up with you." Harry brushed past me, his trunk rolling down the sidewalk loudly. I glared at Vernon once more. "Just remember next time you mess with Harry or are cruel to him. Any of you." I looked at all the Dursleys now. "I will know about it and I have less conviction towards muggles such as yourselves." I smiled once more and took my wand away from Vernon's throat. "Ciao." I turned and ran after Harry.

I caught up with him as he was passing a playground. I heard a loud rustling that exceeded the noise of the wind passing through the bushes. Harry and I both looked at the shrubbery on the other side of the road. I could make out two glowing eyes and a long wolf-like snout. The beast came farther out and made a low guttural sound. I pushed Harry back and he fell down. I held my wand up and pointed it at the animal. Just as I was about to petrify it, the Knight Bus appeared, blocking my view. I ran and looked on the other side, but the wolf was gone.

"This is the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Hello, I am Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor for this evening." Harry looked up at Stan and I laughed as I helped him up.

"This is Sawyer's best friend." Harry looked him over and nodded.

"What were you doing on the ground?" Stan asked, scratching his chin.

"I fell over." Harry went to get his trunk.

"Whats you fell over for? I'll get that, get on now." Harry and I sat on one of the beds. Some stranger slept at the end covered by his tatty robes.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Harry defended himself.

"Where are we going?" The shrunken head asked.

"The Leaky Cauldron that's in London."

"Ya hear that Ernie, the Leaky Cauldron that's in London." Stan teased as he pulled out the Daily Prophet again. I dug around and tuned out the conversation Harry was having with Stan about Sirius Black. Andi flew out in a flurry of wings and an undignified squawk. She roosted on the bar that held a curtain around the bed, angry at me for hiding her away.

I grabbed the thick stack of letters I had received from the mysterious person over the last few months. I leafed through them until I came to the most recent one that had found me at the Leaky Cauldron this morning.

Tearing it open, I read.

_Nora,_

_I know I have no right to ask this of you, but I must implore you that you keep my letters a secret until such time as I can reveal myself to you. I have kept my identity a secret for both of our safeties. You are such an amazing young woman and I know your parents would be very proud of you. _

_Love, _

_Padfoot_

I folded the letter up quickly and shoved it back in the envelope. These letters gave me an uneasy feeling. I hid them away back into the depths of my backpack.

"What did you say your name was again?" Stan asked, looking closer at Harry.

"The Leaky Cauldron." I pulled Harry off the bus.

"Andromeda, get the trunk." My phoenix stopped pouting and toted the heavy trunk to the curb, dropping it with a thud. She flew away to catch a mouse she'd seen crawling down the street.

Tom waddled out and clapped his hands. "Mr. Potter! Am I relieved to see you." He took Harry's trunk and led him up to the room I had reserved for him. The man led him to another room.

"What's going on?"

The man noticed me for the first time. "Nora? I'm sorry but the Minister wants see Harry alone." He ushered Harry into the room and went to shut the door but I stuck my foot in the doorway to keep it from closing.

"Miss Nora, the Minister of Magic would like to speak to Harry, _alone." _He insisted, I nodded and moved back so he could close the door. I dug through my backpack to get the extendable ear I made for the twins to work on. It wiggled under the door and towards the conversation.

By the time it had wiggled its way to where I could clearly hear, Crouch was telling Harry that he should not be running around considering the state of things.

"State of things?" I mumbled. He must mean Sirius Black. I heard Harry shift and stand up.

I reeled the ear in quickly and walked back downstairs. Sawyer ran to the base of the steps and held up his arms beckoning me with an off-tune love song. I swooned theatrically and slowly stepped down the rough wooded steps. I took one of his hands and we danced sloppily around the bar as he enchanted the piano to spit out a song without someone touching it. He twirled me around and I laughed. Some of the people in the tavern drinking or eating watched us warily, I was surprised Tom hadn't asked us to keep it down. Sawyer and I collapsed onto a bench and laughed. He caught my eyes and smiled.

I smiled back and caught a glance of two young people in the corner snogging their faced off. The girl had her finger knotted in the boy's hair and looked like she was pulling him over towards her. "I don't know why they find that romantic." I pointed and he craned his neck around to look.

"It's not romantic, it's intimate my little uneducated witch." He patted my head and that childish act turned into something more when he stroked my hair and cupped my face. He leaned closer to me and I couldn't breathe, my heart hammered in my chest the same way it had when Wilhelm had been circling me in the woods last school year.

"And you are educated in the ways of intimacy, Sawyer?" He laughed softly and leaned closer. I closed my eyes and tasted the butter bear on his lips. I felt my hands knot themselves in his thick hair. I yanked him closer to me and he pulled away.

"Nora," he mumbled in my ear softly, "You're pulling my hair too hard." My fingers released and the door burst open. I was smiling at Sawyer and our faces were so close together I didn't care who had come into The Leaky Cauldron.

"What are you two doing!?" The twins yelled right in front of us. Sawyer and I jumped away from each other like the embarrassed 13 year olds we were.

"When did you all get in? I thought you were in Egypt visiting my favorite Weasley?" I'd met Bill for a little bit when I visited the Weasleys right after school got out and we got along swimmingly. He was into adventure and danger, he had a pony tail and an earring. Every girl's super star dream boat.

"Don't try to change the subject, Renora." Fred snapped as he and George pressed themselves against either side of Sawyer.

"What are you doing over here with our little sister?" They interrogated in unison. Sawyer was having a hard time picking a boy to look at since they were talking together.

"She's not your…" George grabbed Sawyer's ear and pulled him up.

"She is too our little sister and you will stay away from her!" I was locked between the twins' arms and Sawyer just blushed and smiled as I was pulled away to a different table. I saw the Minister of Magic walk down the steps and I raced over to him.

"Sir, I'm a big fan," I hated him, "and I was wondering if I could get a statement about the recent escape of notorious mass murderer Sirius Black for my weekly newsletter about the Ministry. " I pulled out a notepad and quill from my jacket pocket. Hagrid had taught me a thing or two. I smiled at him and his eyes widened when he saw my eyes.

"Miss, I'm afraid I'm very busy." He tried to sidestep me but I would not let that happen.

"Please just one little quote?" I said quietly, pleading with my eyes.

"Fine, what did you say your name was?" He took my quill and notepad.

"Nora." I hoped that was enough for him.

"Nora, what?"

"Black," he took a sharp breath.

"Are you related to this mad man?"

"Black is a fairly common name, Minister." I lied quickly. "In school I learned that it was one of the thirteen original wizarding families, right? So somewhere along the line we're all related to them one way or another." This didn't appease him as much as I wanted it to. "Please I really do want a quote from you on Sirius Black, I promised my subscribers." It frightened me how easily I was lying to the Minster of Magic.

"Fine," he spoke and the quill wrote by itself, "Sirius Black is a madman who, after murdering 13 people with one curse in the middle of a crowded street 12 years ago, was imprisoned in Azkaban, when a few weeks ago he escaped by means unknown and has been at large ever since." I took the quill and notepad out of the air.

"Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Minister watched me closely before he walked to the bar for a stiff drink.

The twins each wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Nora Black what have you been scheming up without us?" I looked at both of them with the most mischievous grin.

"How do you feel about going on a search for a maniacal murderer?"

"Wicked." They both grinned at me.


	8. Prisoner of Azkaban part 2

I was walking around by myself in Nocturne alley. I had my jacket hood pulled up and wasn't acknowledging anyone around me, I was on a mission to get a few items for the professors at school.

Now most people would be angered at the thought of being an errand girl for grown men and women, but I enjoyed it, it gave me a little extra pocket money and I was learning to wheel and deal with the big boys. I stepped into Borgin and Burkes to pick up a time turner.

"I'm here to pick up Minerva's package." I lowered my hood and made sure my voice was steady and my gaze pierced the man's behind the counter.

"Aren't you a little young to be running around in a place like this?" The man laughed at his joke.

"I'm here for the package, please give it to me, I am a busy person." He looked me up and down and scoffed.

"Been striking fear into the hearts of men for fifty years and now children come walking up to my counter like they are at the sweet shop." He grumbled as he rummaged for the Time Turner.

He dropped it on the counter and I unwrapped the paper to make sure it was in good order. "We agreed on 2 galleons?"

"Due to unforeseen complication in acquiring such a rare and valuable trinket, the price has inflated to 10 Golden Galleons." I rolled my eyes.

"3, that's my final offer." He glared at me through his dirty glasses and I looked back at him with an emotionless expression, nay, not emotionless but bored with his weak bargaining tactics.

"Four or leave my shop," I watched him cautiously and pulled out four galleons laid them on the counter. He bit each one to make sure it was real. I tucked the Time Turner away and grinned at him.

"Thank you for your cooperation." I pulled my hood back up and went on my way to the potion apothecary that while sketchy, sold some of the things Snape had put in orders for me to get.

I walked out of the potion shop holding the large container of dragon spleens, hoping it didn't spill when someone stopped in front of me. I looked up and the woman gasped, her light blond hair with black underneath reminded me of Draco's.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm in a bit of a hurry." I tried to step around her but Lucius blocked my way with his cane.

"Ms. Black, I didn't imagine I would see one as young as yourself in this place of disreputable commerce alone." I tried to move around him again.

"I'd like to point out that you are here with your… wife?"

"Narcissa," she kept looking at my two toned eyes. "You have such familiar eyes…" I laughed.

"Well I can assure you, I'm the only one with one brown and one violet colored eye. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't want to get dragon spleen on anyone." Stepping forward, Lucius Malfoy's cane pressed against my chest. "Remove your cane or I shall remove it for you, Mr. Malfoy. Wouldn't want to make a scene would you?" He smiled snidely at me.

"I do so hope you have a pleasant year at Hogwarts." He let me pass and I hurried back to the bustling main street of Diagon Alley. I had to drop off my purchases before I met everyone at the sweet shop for ice cream. Sawyer was sitting outside his parents shop, working on fixing a table leg. He looked to make sure his parents were busy and ran over to me. He kissed me quickly and grinned sheepishly.

We starred at each other awkwardly for a moment until his dad called for him to get back to work. He dropped his hands from where they were holding onto my elbows.

"Catch you later," he squeezed my hand and went back to work.

"Bye!" I waved.

I really did like Sawyer, but more he tried to be my boyfriend, the less I wanted to be tied down with someone. Maybe that sounds too deep for a 13 year old girl, but I have the sinking suspicion that my life will be too crazy for romance in the coming years.

I stopped to admire a dress in a shop window when Andi apparated onto my shoulder. I resumed my trek to the sweet shop but something in an alley caught my eye. I backed up a few steps and saw a black dog, a mutt really, curled up and shivering. I looked around to see if anyone saw as I walked down to look at it closer. Andromeda squawked apprehensively as I kneeled down to look at the poor thing. One eye opened and I held out my hand for it to sniff. His nostrils flared and his eyes opened wide. I fell backwards in my haste to get up. The dog relaxed and whimpered. I saw that he was skin and bones practically.

"I've got something for you," I opened my backpack and dug around until I found the sandwiches Hagrid had packed me. "They aren't great, I'll admit, but Hagrid, he's my guardian, thinks that I would be absolutely starved when I'm out on my own." I said as I unwrapped the waxed paper and pulled off the pieces of meat. I made a makeshift bowl out of the wad of waxed paper and put all the meat in it. The dog sniffed it once and ate it. "Would you like some water? I bet you would, I'm sure I have something in here I can use for some water." I continued digging around in my bag, I pulled out a glass dish filled with the stack of letters that were now wrapped in the newspaper with Sirius Black's face. "You see these? Someone's been sending me letters for a few months now, I don't know who he is, but he knows me, it's very strange." The dog put and paw on the cover of the magazine and I nodded. "Yes Mr. Dog, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban." I filled the bowl with water from my wand. "The magic bit will have to be our little secret. But yes, Black's escaped and from what I hear, he's after my friend Harry. I always protect Harry and this year I have to deal with an alleged mass murderer? I just don't catch a break." I scratched the mangy dog behind the ears, his leg jerked in pleasure. "I really don't know why I'm telling you this, too much time with Hagrid's pets, I suppose. I have to go meet my friends, now. Stay out of trouble, a big black dog like you could be taken for something very nasty and bad when you are actually very sweet." I rubbed his stomach when he rolled over. I refilled his water bowl again. "Sorry again about not having much to eat. Bye." I smiled at the dog and put my letters and newspaper back in my bag. Andi nipped at my ear, jealous that I had given that dog so much attention. "Oy! He was half starved, something you know nothing about you fat animal." She hissed and I shook my head. "Hiss all you want, won't make you any thinner." She sat on my shoulder pouting. I sat down at the sweet shop table with my friends. I turned to sit down my backpack when I saw the dog from earlier watching me from under a flower cart on the other side of the street. I smiled at him and he lay down to pant in the shade.

"Have I told you two that you need a haircut?" The twins each wrapped an arm around me.

"Only about a hundred times since we stopped being made at you for snogging that boy."

"I wasn't sno-" Sawyer gave me a sad grin from across the bar. "Shut up you two." I pushed away from breakfast and went to pack my backpack.

I had told Sawyer that since I was going back to Hogwarts that maybe we should stop trying to be more than friends. He told me he understood and gave me a record player along with muggle and wizard records. I hugged him longer than I thought I should after what I had just said, but it felt good to feel his warmth and arms wrapped around me.

I went up to my room and Andi warbled. I felt really horrible about being that way with one of my oldest friends. A tawny owl dropped a letter on my bed and flew off again. I tore it open and sighed; another mystery letter from the mystery sender had arrived. There was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called as I shoved the letter into my bag. Harry walked in and looked absolutely scared to the core.

"Sirius Black is after me. A murder is coming after me for God knows why." I put a clip in my hair to pull it out of my face.  
>"Does this really surprise you, Harry? You attract trouble like a dog attracts fleas." I grinned at him. "But as long as I'm around neither a murderer nor and manic will get near you."<p>

"Whatever you say Nora." I grabbed my backpack and Andi latched on to my shoulder.

"C'mon danger bait, we have to get to King's Cross station." I grabbed Harry's hand and Andi apparated us down to the dining room.

"Nora! How many times have I told you to stop using that blasted animal to get down the steps! You're going to catch my pub on fire!" Tom yelled. I waved him off.

"Maybe then you could actually fix the place up a bit, Tom." He shook his head.

Tom and I had a complicated relationship. After I had played the piano here for the first time, he told me I should play whenever I show up and he'd give me a room for free and one hot meal a day. I couldn't beat that offer so all his jesting was for fun.

"Everyone packed and ready?" Mrs. Weasley smiled and zipped my jacket up higher before we went out in front of the pub to get to the train station. The whole lot of us were herded into the cars the Ministry had sent for us.

"Well Harry, you're getting us the royal treatment." I quipped as I helped jam the others' school trunks into the boot of one of the cars.

"Shut up, Nora." He was still tender about the fact a murderer was after him.

I rolled my eyes and went to get in the car when Sawyer ran out. I turned to him and he gave me one last quick awkward kiss.

"I'll still write to you, I hope you'll write back." I nodded.

"Yeah, of course." He smiled and hugged me.

"Bye." He stepped back.

"Bye." The twins pulled me into the car.

Andi was curled up in my lap as talked to the twins about their joke shop plans. Right now they were obsessed with 'skiving snack boxes' sweets that make you ill. It sounded revolting but I told them that I would help them make them if they gave me the ailments that needed to be in the candy.

The train jerked to a stop in the thrashing rain. I looked out the window, it was dark and too early to be at Hogwarts. I stood up. The lights went out.  
>"I'm going to check on Harry."<p>

"We're coming with you." They stumbled in the darkness over their piles of joke plans.

"No, it's fine, he's just a few doors down." I opened the door and was out into the hallway. "Lumos." My wand glowed faintly, now I could at least see where I was walking. I felt a horrible chill in the air. There was a dreadful rattling noise, like the last breath of a dead man. I was face to face with a veiled monster.

The thing reached out a skeletal hand and touched my face. Its touch was cold and clammy and the thing of nightmares. It took another shaking breath and I felt something inside of me being pulled out. All the happiness in me being pulled out and replaced with an all too fresh pain in my veins; vampire venom.

I thrashed around trying to kill my attacker. It hurt too much to move. Everything was black just like when I was dying.

"…she's coming to, look." I rubbed my eyes and looked up. I was in the hall still, but the lights were back on and a sick looking man was watching me intently.

"Miss Black, how are you feeling?" I laughed shakily.

"Is Harry okay?" The twins came into my vision and they nodded.

"He fainted but he's okay." I sighed.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked again, he looked at my cheek. I looked at all of the scars on his face, too.

"Pretty awful." I sat up slowly and leaned against the wall of the carriage.

I groaned and rubbed my arms, my entire body was so sore.

"Who are you?" I asked the man in tattered robes.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." He shook my hand and I looked at his face again. Somewhere deep down I thought that I recognized him.

"What was that thing?" The twins asked, shaken.

"A dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban." I was rocked with a wave of dizziness and hugged my knees to my chest. Lupin touched my shoulder.

"If you have any chocolate, eat it, it should help." The twins ran back into our car and I heard them digging through their bags for sweets.

Andi nudged my hand and I held her, her warmth not even touching the cold in my body that felt like it would never leave.

"What did it do to me?" I said quietly.

"It feeds off happy memories."

"It replaced mine with agonizing pain."

"Everyone reacts differently to dementors. I'm terribly sorry I don't have any chocolate on hand, I used my last for Harry and the rest of the students who found themselves in my car when the Dementor came around." I nodded and the twins came bursting out with a chocolate frog.

"Will this work?" They asked together, holding out the purple box.

"It should be a good start, but I'll ask you to visit the nurse when we reach Hogwarts. I need to have a word with the driver." He stood up and took a few paces away before turning and pointing at the unopened chocolate frog. "Eat, you'll feel better." I ate the frog and the twins helped me into the carriage where I covered up with Fred's jacket and slept all the way to Hogwarts.

I wanted to sleep the rest of my life but Harry shook me awake. The twins were looking at me, concerned.

"Get off you screwy speckled git." I grumbled and Harry just shook me again.

"You have to get up, Nora, we're at Hogwarts." I pulled my arms through Fred's jacket and Andi curled up in my arms. I was still so cold and empty on the inside as I tromped off the train.

I looked at Harry, he looked a bit peaky, too.

"What did the dementor do to you?" I asked quietly, pulling back from the crowd of students.

"I… I hear a woman screaming, and I fainted."

"No pain?" He shook his head. "Did it touch you?"

"No, it hid its hand when I looked at it." We got into the carriage pulled by Thestrals and bumped along the tracks.

Fred and George kept looking at me. "What?" I asked them, a little sharper than I meant to.

"Here, we nicked this from Malfoy when he ran into our carriage when the lights went out." George handed me a bar of chocolate. "Just found it in my pocket." I tore the golden foil and broke off a large corner, handing it to Harry. I bit out of the remaining part.

When we reached the doors of the castle, McGonagall was waiting for us.

"Potter, Black, Granger, come with me please." I tossed Fred his jacket and Andi took off from my shoulder to go hunt out Mrs. Norris. We all sat down in our housemistress's office in front of a warm fire. I crunched some chocolate, it helped take the edge off of the absolutely horrible way I was feeling.

"I heard there were two dementor attacks on the train." She looked at Harry and me.

"Those are right awful creatures." I rubbed a smudge of chocolate off of my face.

"I want you two to go see Madame Pomfrey." I looked at Harry and he look sick still as I felt.

"We ate the chocolate Professor Lupin gave us."

"Good, finally a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his cures," Poppy Pomfrey came bustling in with another bar of chocolate. She broke it in half and gave one to each of us. I pursed my lips. I was not overly fond of chocolate right now. I put it in my backpack and pulled out the Time Turner wrapped in paper still.

"Here's your package, I didn't want to send it via owl." I handed it to McGonagall along with her change. She pushed two galleons back to me and I put them in my pocket.

Harry gave me a funny look. "What?" I asked.

"You're her errand girl?"

"I have to do something to supplement my mischief making."

"You two are dismissed but you must report to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow morning for a full once over before classes." I pulled Harry by his sleeve and we walked out into the hallway.

"That's what you were doing the entire time in Diagon Alley? Buying stuff for the teachers?" Harry was shocked.

"Unlike some of us, Harry dear, my parents didn't leave me a vault full of gold to spend at my leisure." I pulled out my Hogwarts robes and pulled them on over my street clothes; it would have to suffice for the time being.

"What was that thing you just gave McGonagall?"

"It was a package she had ordered and I just picked it up, that's it." It wasn't a whole lie. I did pick it up, in Knocturn alley, at one of the most disreputable shops. Hermione came out of the office beaming as she tucked the Time Turner into her shirt.

"Shall we go to the feast?" She walked quickly to the main hall just as Flitwick was carrying out a stool and the mangy old sorting hat.

"We've missed the sorting," Harry stated obviously.

"If you two don't hurry up, we'll miss the pre-term announcements." I pulled on the horrible pointed hat that was the norm for the beginning of term feast and followed Hermione to the Gryffindor table. The twins waved me over. I saw Neville sitting quietly.

"Hey Neville." I touched his shoulder as I sat down. He spilled some of his pumpkin juice down the front of his robes.

"Hi-Hiya Nora." I smiled and filled my plate with meat pie and potatoes.

"How was your summer? I got your post card from holiday in the tropical gardens. I bet you loved it there." He nodded. He really loved herbology and his gran had taken him to see one of the biggest wizarding gardens in the world.

"Yeah, I loved it. What did you do? Get into trouble with the twins, I 'spose." I shook my head.

"You wound me, Neville!" I took a swig of pumpkin juice. "They were in Egypt. I did my homework and a few other things around the castle and picked up Harry a few weeks before term started." Andi swooped in and landed on Neville's shoulder. She had a rat tail hanging from her beak. I brushed her away and she crawled under the table to finish eating her catch.

Across from me, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finningan were pushed out of the way and replaced with Fred and George.

"So Nora, you and Longbottom, eh?" Fred said with a tick too much jealously to be joking.

"Whatever will the boy at the Leaky Cauldron think?" George sighed. I rolled my eyes and ate some meat pie.

"Did you know, Nora, that's a there's a wizard in Belgium that is growing mutated dirigible plums that can carry off small animals if they are tied to one?" I shook my head.

"I certainly did not, can he grow one big enough to give me a break from these two nosey sods for a bit?" I pointed my fork at the two Weasley's with their choppy haircuts. Mrs. Weasley had forbidden them to go to school with their cute shaggy mops of orange hair so they had consented to letting her cut their hair but they kept jerking around and making it difficult for her. She ended up throwing her hands up in defeat and saying they'd have to live with it.

"Why must you act so cruel towards us, Miss Black?" Fred leaned heavily on his brother, hand thrown to his forehead like he was feeling faint.

"We did save you on the train from the dementor, let us not forget that act of heroism." Neville looked over at me.

"You got attacked by the dementors on the train?" Everyone heard that and looked at me. I felt my face flush.

"It wasn't anything to get worked up about, it was really awful. They suck out your happy memories until you go mad." I shivered at the thought. Harry looked over at me from farther down the table. I waved at him and we continued stuffing ourselves until we looked like fat ticks.

Afterwards, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I all went up to congratulate Hagrid on getting the job as Professor of the Care of Magical Creatures class. I already knew about it, but I felt I should go up and talk to him just the same. He kept saying how grateful he was until he broke down in a fit of happy tears and McGonagall shooed us away. I had Harry and the others leave for the common room and I walked to Professor Lupin who was about to leave using the back door.

"Sir." I called. He turned and looked pale in the light of the Great Hall.

"Miss Black, I'm glad to see that you have recovered from the incident on the train." I nodded.

"I was wondering if you could teach me a protection spell or charm or something to keep the dementors away from me."

"That is very advanced magic, way beyond what is taught in school."

"I think I can handle it. If I don't learn it, at least teach Harry. He told me what he heard when the dementors attacked him. I think it was his mum screaming the night Voldemort killed her. I just have this gut feeling, you know? I heard people, my parents, I guess talking about me right before it was replaced with pain, so I'm guessing it's the same principle."

"You are a very bright witch." He said softly. "I will help you learn the spell but in return you must help me with my class, there are certain creatures I come to need in the course of my lessons that must be caught or at least detained."

"I've been helping with that since I started living at Hogwarts. I can manage." He reached out his hand and I shook it.

"You should head up to your dormitory now, it seems your friends have left you behind."

"Goodnight, Professor." I turned and walked out the massive wooden doors.

Outside I slid behind a tarnished suit of armor that had a rickety ladder leading all the way up and around to the Fat Lady's portrait. Now that might sound like a much longer way to get up seven floors but in reality, the ladder was enchanted so it was not very much climbing at all. These were the ways Filch got around so quickly in the castle. I had memorized the Marauder's map and kept it folded up safely in one of the infinite pockets in my rucksack just in case I wanted to see where Harry or anyone else in the school was.

I hoped that it would show me where Sirius Black was, if he ever was stupid enough to set foot in the school so I could avenge James and Lily Potter.

I stepped out from behind the corresponding suit of armor on the seventh floor and heard people talking.

"We need to tell her, Dumbledore, she has the right to know." Snape hissed at the headmaster.

"He would not want her to see him that way." Dumbledore hummed. I heard their footsteps approaching.

"Sir, she needs to know who her father is." I hid behind the armor. And listened.

"Nora knows what she needs to know already, she's a very clever girl." I held my breath when they paused in front of my hiding spot.

"She _is_ clever, and that's what I'm afraid of, Albus." Snape sighed heavily. I imagined him pinching his nose. "She gets in more trouble than the Weasley twins. I already suspect she had the idea of hunting Black down to protect Potter."

"I will talk to her about this, but after what happened on the train this evening, let her relax and enjoy spending time with her friends." Their voices got fainter and I bolted for the Fat Lady's picture. It struck me then that I didn't know the password. I sighed and sat down. Surely someone else would either come or go sooner or later. Andi flew over to me and clacker her beak. The Fat Lady was trying to sing and I covered my ears. I pulled my backpack over to me and dug out the bar of chocolate to eat.

I pulled out a box of jokes I'd picked up for the twins and the boxes of candy I'd gotten for Harry and his friends. There were jelly beans that made the person who ate them sound like a different animal. Little black pepper poppers that exploded in your mouth. I'd gotten a set of chocolate frogs for them to share.

"Pssssst!" I looked around.

"Who was that?" I stood up, shoving my gifts back into my backpack.

"Nora, I know for a fact that all the Gryffindors are in the common room, even the Weasley twins… for once." She grumbled.

"You're going to let me in?" She looked around nervously.

"_Fortuna Major._" She whispered.

"Fortuna Major." I smiled and she swung forward. I ran through the passage and was greeted with the raucous laughter of the common room. I handed Harry and Ron their joke candy. I found Neville and gave him his toad back.

"Oh! Thanks Nora, I've been looking for him all over." He stroked the toad and checked him over. The twins came over and cornered me by Neville's armchair.

"So Nora, you and Longbottom over here snogging?" I rolled my eyes and pulled out my box of jokes for them. "You certainly got enough practice with that wizard in the pub."

"Not yet, we're planning on eloping." Neville turned bright red and made a break for it between the twins.

"You wouldn't." they narrowed their eyes and took the box of jokes that I held out for them.

"I will unless you to admit you're both in love with me." They scoffed and searched the goody box.

"You will not elope, Nora Black, unless it's with me." Wood wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I laughed.

"I can't even ride a broom, Wood, however would we leave?" Everyone in the general area stopped talking and looked at me. The twins dropped their boxes of pranks.

"You can't ride a broom?" Fred asked, absolutely shocked.

"No, it's not exactly been on my list of things to do…"

"Never?" George narrowed his eyes.

"No, I missed my first flying class and traded it for more potions lessons." Hermione smiled, it was something she would have done.

"We're going to have to change that Nora." Wood said. "We need a few more reserve players." I shook my head.

"I'd much rather stay on the ground, thank you very much." The common room became hushed. Dumbledore was standing by the doorway. He smiled at us all.

"Nora, if you'll come speak me, please, it won't take but a moment." I looked up at the twins and they nudged me forward. Everyone's eyes were on me. I heard someone whisper,

"Maybe she's related to Sirius Black. That'd explain a lot."

"Sirius Black's daughter?" I felt my breath catch.

Dumbledore put a hand on my shoulder and led me out into the hallways.

"Professor, whatever it is, I'm sure I did it, but why call me out in the middle of the common room? Don't know you know how much gossip there's going to be?" I groaned and looked up at the headmaster.

"Nora, you really must stop caring so much what other people say about you." I scoffed.

"Professor, I don't care who they think my family is, but they're going to turn on Harry. They_ always _turn on Harry when stuff like this happens." I pulled out the newspaper and held up the picture of the madman.

"I've read the article." He waved his wand and a door appeared in a space of empty wall.

"The room of requirement?" I shoved the paper in the front pocket of my rucksack as he held the door open for me.

The room was full of pictures. Moving pictures and portraits stared down at me. "Follow me." I stopped and looked at a girl sitting under a tree in the courtyard. She had a short bob and a loose Gryffindor tie around her neck. I saw behind her a duo of Gryffindor boys watching her. There was the shaggy haired boy from the picture in Dumbledore's office and the other one had tawny hair and looked ill.

"Professor, who is this man with Professor Lupin?" Dumbledore doubled back from where he had been standing.

"That is one of my favorite pictures, Harry's mother should walk in at any time. Ah, there she is." A red haired girl walked in and sat down with the other girl under the tree.

"Who are they?" I picked up the picture frame and held it tightly. The dark haired woman looked up and she had violet eyes like one of mine. "That's my mum. It has to be." Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes, she was extraordinary." I hung on to his every word.

"What was her name?"

"Eleanor Ithaca Polaris. But she never went by that, Ithaca was what most people called her."

"What was she like?"

"You can take that picture and we will talk in greater detail in my office." He picked up two other pictures before I could look at them.

We walked up another set of steps to the back of Dumbledore's office.

"What was she like? Was she smart? Was she popular? I bet she was really cool, her hair was cool."

"Your mother was amazing." He sat down at his desk and handed me the other pictures. One was a group picture of Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter. I'd seen them in his photo album.

"There's Professor Lupin." He pointed at the light brown haired tall boy who looked like he had a bad bout of the flu he was just getting over.

"And my mum," I smiled at my mother. She was grinning broadly and looking over occasionally at the shaggy haired boy who had his arm wrapped around her. A mousy looking boy stood on the other side of him.

"He's Peter Pettigrew, I never did understand how he fit in with the lot of them." I looked at the next picture. My mom stood holding the Quidditch cup with Harry's dad.

"She played Quidditch?" He nodded and Fawkes cawed as Andi soared in to perch with him.

"She was the captain, Harry's dad was the seeker."

"I knew Harry's dad was on the team, but that's it. I don't even know how to fly a broom."

"I want you to keep those pictures, you should have them more than I need them. I think your mother would want you to have them." I looked at the pictures in my lap again and smiled.

"But professor, what about my father? He went to Hogwarts, too, correct?"

"I think that will have to wait for another time, Nora, he would not want you to know about him, yet." I stood up and clutched the pictures to my chest. I looked over at Harry's dad and the shaggy haired boy.

"My dad is Sirius Black, isn't he, Professor." I looked back and Dumbledore was gone. I groaned loudly and slammed the heavy oak door after my phoenix flew to my shoulder.

"I knew he wasn't going to give me an answer, he never does, but at least he gave me these." I held up the pictures and Andromeda leaned down and looked at them. "That's my mum, like I'm your mum." Andi pressed her face against my cheek and I took the long way back up to the common room. I wanted to keep the pictures to myself for as long as possible.

"Miss Black, shouldn't you be in your common room?" Snape said in a bored tone.

"I was just to see Professor Dumbledore." I held the picture frames against my chest.

"What is it you've got there?" He held out his hand and I reluctantly handed him the pictures.

"Pictures of my mum." His lips drew a thin line and he scowled.

"I see that, did Dumbledore give you these?" I nodded.

"Yeah, Harry's mum and dad are in them to, but you know that." His eyes lingered on the pictures with Lily.

"Did he tell you who your father is?" I shook my head.

"No, he refused to, did you know him?" I asked carefully to gauge his response.

"Yes." He handed them back to me and I watched him walk away quickly into the dark halls. I looked down at the pictures and knew that my father had to be one of the three other men in the group picture. I didn't want it be the small, weak looking Peter Pettigrew. Lupin would be a good father, I supposed. I got on one of the staircases and it decided to move. I watched the pictures move around and wondered what my mother was like. She was smart and a great flyer. I wondered if I would be as good of a flyer as she was.

I got back to the common room and everyone was either up in their room or sleeping on the furniture. The twins were nowhere to be seen. I stepped up to go to the dormitory when I heard the portrait close again.

"Nora!" The twins hissed, pulling me backwards. My grip on the pictures wasn't enough and they clattered on the floor. The twins picked them up, Fred whistled.

"She was a looker, wasn't she?" George said. I tried to get the pictures back from him but he held it above his head which was practically in outer space to me.

"Shut up, that's my mum." Fred held up his picture, too. I jumped up to grab and that's when they saw the last picture; James Potter and my mother in Quidditch robes holding the cup.

"She played Quidditch, too?" The twins gave my pictures back.

"Yeah, I guess she did." They grabbed that picture and looked at it.

"That settles it, you're going to have to learn now, starting tomorrow afternoon."

"I have class…"

"Well after your class, then." Wood walked down the steps.

"What's all the commotion about?" He was wearing a pair of athletic shorts and an Irish Quidditch team shirt. The twins each wrapped an arm around me to keep me in the conversation.

"Our little Nora's mother was Quidditch captain." They showed her picture to him and I thought Wood was going to have a stroke.

"You're mum was Ithaca Polaris? I loved her! She was the best captain Hogwarts ever had. I read her playbook all the time. It's a classic." He got this far off dreamy look in his eyes.

I snapped my fingers. "Wood!" He looked back at me.

"Sorry, I would have loved to meet her. She was a power team with Harry's dad. Best captain, best seeker, and best Quidditch games in the school history." I took my pictures back from the boys and walked up the steps to my room.

I sat the pictures on the bedside table and flopped onto my bed. Andi clucked and curled up on my chest. I stroked her feathers. I couldn't go to sleep now, knowing who my mother had been.

I woke up the next day to Hermione complaining about divination. As I rolled out of bed, I caught sight of the picture of my mom and Lily. The two boys in the back had crept up closer and were both reaching out to touch her shoulder but Lily sat down and they quickly walked away out of the picture. I pulled on my robes and shoved my divination book into my rucksack.

I drug Harry and Ron up to divination because Hermione had other classes to get to before she could use the time turner to go back in time for divination.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around for her.  
>"I don't know, keep walking, it's a long way to the divination classroom now scoot!" I sighed and kept pulling the still drowsy boys by their sleeves. We got up to the room and we were all out of breath. Neville was there, sitting on the ground.<p>

"Neville, what are you doing?" I asked, helping him up.

"I couldn't figure out how to get up to the classroom." I sighed and touched the tip of his nose.

"Oh, Neville." I looked up at the trapdoor. "It's time for class, let us in." A ladder rolled down and then became solid. I climbed up and sneezed. The room was hot and smelled funny. Seamus and Dean waved Neville and me over. They pulled up a pouf between them and I pulled out my book. I flipped through the pages and listened as she spewed her usual vague predictions, she stopped in front of Neville.

"You, boy, is your grandmother quite well?" Neville turned scarlet and nodded.

"I… I think so." He stammered.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" She hmmed and went along talking about this and that. I leaned over Dean and pulled Neville closer.

"Don't listen to her, she's just filling space and wasting air. Be careful to not break a teacup though." Just as I said that, the professor said something loudly.

I leaned up and looked at her. Her bug-ish eyes were trained on me, along with everyone else in the room.

"Did you say something, Professor?" I sneezed again from the perfume coming out of the fire.

"I simply asked you if you'd seen your father of late?" She had the same dreamy tone and I wanted to shake her for saying it in front of the class.

"I don't know what you mean, Professor. I'm an orphan." She stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time and then slowly nodded.

"Of course, silly me… you!" She pointed at Neville and everyone jumped.

"Yes?" Neville said quietly.

"When you break your first tea cup, could you please pick a blue printed one? I'm rather attached to the pink ones."

We all poured tea and drank it down to the dredges. We swirled and turned the cups upside down.

We were all jokingly reading each other's tea leaves when Professor Trelawney grabbed Harry's cup and gasped. She muttered something I couldn't hear and then sat down heavily in her chair.

"What is it?" Someone asked.

"THE GRIM!" She shrieked. "Harry has been marked by the grim, it means imminent death." I rolled my eyes. She'd predicted the death of one student every year for as long as she'd been teaching at Hogwarts and so far none of them have come to untimely ends.

Hermione got up and looked at the cup, saying that she didn't think it looked like the grim at all and glowering at the professor when she insulted her aura.

I had taught Hermione that it was okay to stand up to teachers because they were just people and not gods.


	9. Prisoner of Azkaban part 3

After divination, we all headed to lunch. I took my spot between the twins and Andi flew in, landing on my shoulder to beg for scraps. Everyone enjoyed tossing food into the air for her to swoop and catch.

I had to leave early to help Hagrid set up for his first Care of Magical Creatures class. Andi rode on my shoulder as I cantered down the hill, still eating my hot corned beef sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes squishing out of the sides. Hagrid was eagerly awaiting me to show me his lesson. Andi went to go play in the Forbidden Forest while I was taken to a paddock filled with Hippogriffs. Buckbeak cantered over to me and bowed. I bowed back. I had raised him, ground up his meat and feed it to him and he respected me for that. Andi didn't like it when I flew him though so it didn't happen very often.

"They're beautiful, Hagrid, it'll go over great." I smiled at him. I heard the bells ring and we made our way back to the hut so we could lead everyone down to the paddock. I moved to stand with Neville. He seemed absolutely frightened by his growling book that he had bound with a couple of belts. I pulled out mine and stroked the spine. It purred and opened with ease.

"Open your books to page ten," Hagrid boomed when he went to pull the rest of the hippogriffs over."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Draco sneered. I barred my teeth at him and snapped.

"Stroke the spine of course!" Neville shrieked and his book attacked him. I tried to grab it, but the book was viciously ripping his robes. I pounced on the book and rolled with it. I stroked the spine and it calmed down. I helped Neville up and he dusted himself off. I smiled at him.

"Thanks." A Hufflepuff girl gave him a little look over and I smirked and pulled out my wand.

I waved it and Neville's robes stitched themselves back together like new.

"That girl was totally checking you out, Neville." I bumped against his shoulder with mine. He turned scarlet and mumbled that it wasn't true. I sat on one of the boulders so I could watch the class look at the hippogriffs. Harry walked up to Buckbeak and bowed. After a tense few seconds, the hippogriff bowed back. Hagrid was pleased but I kept my eyes on Draco.

I had heard him complaining about Hagrid teaching and how he was going to get him fired so I was keeping a close tab on him.

"Go Harry!" I cheered. Buck beak soared off while the others swarmed to the rest of the hippogriffs.

I was helping Neville with his rather difficult hippogriff when I heard a shrill scream and turned to see Malfoy rolling on the ground clutching his arm. I walked over to him briskly and got down on my knees, acting like I was helping.

"What happened, Malfoy? Buck beak not appreciate that snarky mouth of yours?" I pushed up his blood stained sleeve and looked at the cut as the others ran over. I squeezed his arm and he wailed. "Maybe you should watch what you say next time, weasel." Hagrid picked him up and hurried with him to the school. The rest of the class followed after him. I stayed to take the hippogriffs back to their barn.

"Come along, kids, fun's over for the day." Buck beak came over and nuzzled my hand. I scratched his head. "It's not your fault, baby bird." He pranced off with the others to eat dead ferrets and roll around in the straw.

Hagrid was so upset. He was blubbering and I had finally gotten him down to his hut and he was having a drink, well, he was having an entire barrel of mead. I was sitting on my bed steaming because of Malfoy's stupid behavior. There was a knock on the door and it was Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"I'm going back to the castle, stay out of trouble, you three." I told them as I brushed past out the door. I didn't know what to do when Hagrid cried.

I was walking past the Whomping Willow and I heard a soft groan. The figure of a man stumbling towards the tree. I ran over and helped Professor Lupin.

"Nora," he said softly, like he was exhausted. "You should not be out at this time of the night." He started to shake.

"What's wrong, Professor."

"I need to get to the passage under the willow." I froze the tree and helped him to the base, he stepped on a knot and a hole opened wide enough for us to slip through. "Stay back, you'll…" he was rocked with another wave of tremors. "…get hurt."

"What do you mean?" I followed him through the passage and we came out in the Shrieking Shack.

"Go back, please, I don't want to hurt you." He growled and started to transform, his limbs twisted and I backed up against the wall. I was standing in front of a wolf.

I held up my hands when he looked up at me with his sad, still human eyes. He made to move towards me and then the big black dog from Diagon Alley jumped between us but I was already transformed. I had been working on being an unregistered animagi all summer because it seemed like a good thing to be able to do. My form was a big Irish wolf hound with silky black fur. My shackles raised and I moved next to the dark dog who looked at me, but then we both circled around Lupin. He whimpered and the stray dog pushed him farther into the shack and into a large room with broken furniture and a collapsed bed. The wolf circled around the bed once and slowly climbed onto it, going to sleep. I sat down on my haunches and cocked my head towards the door when the other dog looked at me telling him to leave. He looked at me with these somber eyes and sat next to me.

As the night drug on, I got lower to the ground and finally I had curled up with my tail over my eyes. I was still very deeply asleep when Professor Lupin touched my shoulder and I jolted awake in my human form. I had learned how to enchant my clothes to transform with me.

"Nora, you should not have stayed here, it was much too dangerous." I yawned and shook my head.

"I wouldn't leave you alone professor, I won't tell anyone either." He helped me up from the floor.

"You are so much like your parents." I laughed a little as we walked down the steps.

"So you aren't my father?" He paused for a moment too long before saying.

"I knew them both very well." We walked through the earthen passage to the Whomping Willow.

"I know how you got all those cuts and scars now." I pulled myself out of the passage.

"I am curious as to how you got yours, though." He gestured to my cheek.

"I got bit by a vampire last year trying to find out about the Basilisk."

"You need to stop making a habit of putting yourself in such life threatening situations." He said it with fatherly concern. I grabbed my backpack from where I had dropped it and swung it over my shoulders.

"People keep telling me that and yet I never listen. Take care, professor, I'm pretty sure there are a pair of red-headed troublemakers searching high and low for me." He gave me a little wave and I ran off to the castle.

As I had thought the Weasley twins were borderline manic when I got to breakfast. They glared at me as I sat down between Seamus and Neville and they wedged their way in between them to get on either side of me. I sighed and filled a bowl with my breakfast concoction.

"Where were you last night?" George asked.

"I was out."

"Out _where_?" George insisted. Fred looked like he was about to explode.

"I can't tell you that, they're secrets." I wasn't being as cheeky as I could have been given the situation.

That set Fred off. "You never used to have secrets from us, Renora, now all you ever do is talk to Dumbledore or go off and not tell people where you are or snogging scum that hang out at the leaky cauldron!" Fred slammed his hands on the table, making the plates rattle and everyone looked down at us. He stood up and walked off briskly. George ran after him yelling, "Freddie! Calm down!"

I lost my appetite.

Fred was still angry when I found him in the common room. He was simmering in a chair facing the fire.

"Freddie?" I asked quietly. He wouldn't look up at me. "Please don't be mad." I walked around to face him. He looked down. "Honestly, the secrets I have are important. It is pertinent that I keep them until such time that they are no longer sensitive." He scoffed.

"What are you, some sort of secret agent for Dumbledore?" I didn't answer him and then he looked up at me and the dark humor slid from his eyes. He stood up. "Bloody hell. You are! That's why you go out in the dark forest so much by yourself and how you got bit by the vampire!" I sighed and Freddie stood up, towering over me. "Is that where you were last night? Doing something for the headmaster?" I shrugged and he crushed me in a hug. "My little sister is a secret agent, oh what a happy day." I pulled away.

"Why do you keep bringing up Sawyer and me kissing? You know we're not a thing anyone and yet you insist on talking about it all the time."

He ushered me towards the exit. "My dear sweet Renora Black, someday you will develop a taste for wizards better suited to yourself." I furrowed my brow and he and I walked back down to go to our classes.

I was walking down the hallway when Lupin appeared, opening the door to the Staffroom. "Ah, Nora, would you mind assisting me for a moment, I need your help in securing a Boggart for class today." I stepped into the staffroom.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we professor?" I heard a faint rattle. It seemed to be coming from a wardrobe. I walked closer and it pounded against the walls inside the wooden closet. "It's in here, why did you need my help finding something that was already locked in a wardrobe?"

"I admit that was a less than cunning ruse to speak with you in private." I crossed my arms and looked at the teacher. "What you did last night, was very brave, but also very stupid. You should have just left me to my own devices." I shook my head.

"I couldn't leave you alone like that, you were very scared and very alone. You wouldn't have hurt me."

"Your animagus form is very impressive, it takes a lot for someone to be able to transform like that." I curtsied.

"Thank you, I thought it might come in handy, and it did. The boggart rattled the wardrobe more viciously. "We should be getting to class."

We were all marched right back to the staffroom for class. Lining up, Lupin taught us how to take care of a boggart. We all lined up, I got behind Neville to reassure him after Snape made a biting remark towards him being bad at everything. I glowered at the teacher, he was in a foul mood.

Lupin explained to us the spell we would need to use to confuse the Boggart, _Riddikulus, _but also that we needed to laugh.

"You can do it Neville." I squeezed his shoulder and stepped back to give him room.

"Neville, what frightens you most in the world?" Lupin said softly.

He murmured something that no one could hear.

"Come again?"

"Professor Snape!" He said quickly. Everyone laughed.

"You also live with your grandmother, correct?" Neville nodded.

"But I don't want that Boggart to change into her either!" We all laughed again. Lupin smiled and said something quietly to him. "Ready, Neville?" He nodded and help his wand out in front of him.

Neville looked at the Boggart and it turned into Snape. "_Riddikulus!" _He had a lacey dress, red handbag, and hat festooned with a vulture. I doubled over with laughter. Most of the class got to face the boggart but when Harry and I got up Lupin jumped in front of us and the Boggart turned into a full moon. It quickly deflated and was driven back into the wardrobe.

"And that will conclude the lesson for today." Everyone filed out of the room, buzzing about the Boggart. I stayed back and looked at Lupin.

"I know why you kept Harry from facing the boggart, it could turn into all sorts of bad things but why me?" I blocked the door so he had to answer me.

"Nora, I think we both know why I wouldn't let you face the boggart." I stepped aside and let him walk past me, he stopped, "But the room will be empty for a while, if you're still curious." He shut the door. I pulled out my wand and flicked my wrist, the wardrobe opened slowly and I waited… I waited for the Boggart to come out. There was nothing. I stood there, wanting to see what my greatest fear was but the Boggart didn't transform. The door to the staffroom opened and Snape walked in.

"What are you doing in here alone, Black?" I slipped my wand into my pocket.

"I thought I was going to deal with a Boggart, but it must have been taken care of after my class." I went to walk out and Snape put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"I wouldn't put too much stock in Boggarts." I walked out but I swore I heard the wardrobe rattle.

I was out in the Black Lake tromping around trying to get a kappa to grab my ankles or hands so I could catch it. Lupin watched from the shore and Gisborne watched from a hidden area in the woods.

"Did you know my father?" I asked, standing up to stretch my back.

"Yes."

"Was he… a good man?"

"I thought so."

"What happened to him?"

"He changed."

"How?" I was yanked quickly into the murky water and was disoriented. The kappa was reaching for me and I grabbed its hands and struggled to the surface. The writhing monkey like creature screeched and tried to bite me. I couldn't grab my wand because I had to hold onto it with both hands. Lupin immobilized it and put it in a bag. I was soaking wet and the breeze off the water wasn't helping me. I was shivering but wasn't going to say anything. "How did my father change?"

"That's not a conversation you should be having with me, Nora." I dried myself off using my wand and sighed.

It was the beginning of October and that meant Quidditch would be starting up soon so everyone was in high spirits. Hagrid was sadly stuck doing very boring lessons for Care of Magical Creatures since he was being watched closely after the Malfoy incident. Everyone except the sticks in the mud Slytherins enjoyed Lupin's class. I was exchanging my services catching different beasts for his class in exchange for details about my mother and very rarely, my father.

But right now I was sitting with Wood on the love seat in the common room. He had his arm stretched along the back of the seat and was re-reading my mom's old notes and plays from her Quidditch days. I was leaning on his arm working on my transfiguration homework while the rest of the students quietly did their work. Do not misunderstand what was going on here. Wood and I were friends and he say me as a friend and I didn't have nearly the crush on him I did before. This was his last year at Hogwarts.

"Nora, I'm going to move my arm because it sounds like your two personal body guards are about to come in and cause mayhem." As he said that, the portrait swung open and the twins came in, big grins on their face but when they saw me sitting next to Wood they made a bee line to me but Andi swooped over and sat on my shoulder. Fred and George towered over me and I smiled at them.

"Good evening." I stood up and Wood handed me my books.

"Dear Nora, we have a few plans we would very much like to go over with you." The twins escorted me to a different part of the common room.

I could have been imagining it but I could swear that Fred kept shooting Wood daggers as they talked about more of their products they wanted to add to their mail-order gag company.

After Quidditch practice started, I hardly saw Fred, George, Harry, or Wood so I spent most of my time rounding up creatures for Lupin and having Gisborne help me with my astronomy homework. Everyone seemed to have dropped the fact that Sirius Black was loose and that I might be his daughter.

My birthday rolled around and the twins accosted me as soon as I had walked down the steps with a hug. "Happy Birthday Nora Black!" They cheered and I groaned.

"It's too early in the morning for this, guys." They quickly marched me down to breakfast.

"Hurry up and eat, we're going to Hogsmead today." I shook my head.

"No can do, I have to go catch a grindylow today."

"But it's your birthday." George whined.

"Nora!" Someone yelled from the end of the Great Hall. I looked and Seamus came running towards me full speed. He came to a sliding stop in front of me and I turned to face him.

"Where's the fire, Finnegan?" He blushed and held out a package for me.

"Happy Birthday." He said and waited for me to open it. I pulled the string and pulled off the paper to reveal a small stack of records of Popular Muggle music. I jumped up and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and we both blushed. Lately, Seamus had been acting like he liked me as more than a friend and it hadn't been completely unreciprocated.

"What in bloody hell are these?" Fred held them up. I grabbed them out of his hands and whistled. Andi materialized on the table, still eating a chocolate cake Hagrid had sent up last night. I held out the records and I swear the phoenix sighed at having to fly them up to my hideout.

"Go on you bloody bird, it's my birthday, be nice." She finished her cake and grabbed the albums and took off.

"Are you going down to Hogsmead?" Seamus gave me a crooked grin and I shrugged.

"I have to take care of something this morning but how about I meet you at The Three Broomsticks at one for a butterbeer?" The twins scoffed and I could feel them brooding.

"That sounds like fun." He looked at the twins and then walked away, face still red.

I turned around and grabbed one of both twin's ears. "I swear if you boys do anything to him, I will turn you into ginger slugs." They frowned and Fred's ears were turning red but he didn't say anything.

"I'll even spend some time running around with you two sods when I get done with the water monster hunting. Even though we've been down there hundreds of times before." They wrapped their arms around me.

"We knew you'd come around, we had to get your birthday present anyway." I heard a horrible screech and Errol came flying in with the rest of the mail owls and he slid along the table knocking off plates and food as he went with the big lumpy package he was carrying. I opened it and inside was a letter from Molly wishing me a happy birthday along with a lilac sweater that had a pattered of feathers knitted in varying shades of purple.

"You know she only sends you those because you said you liked them."

"I do like them, very much." I pulled it on to replace my jacket. "It's not my fault you only get lettered of your first name."

I went back to eating but then Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville sat down across from us. Hermione smiled and held out a package.

"This is from Ron and me, since he forgot all about your birthday." He stuck his tongue out at her and blushed.

I opened the book and inside was a set of small colorfully bound books.

I wasn't surprised Hermione got me books but when I pulled one out I was ecstatic.

"Is this the entire set of 'Know-everything' books?" They were a set of books that were honestly jammed full of every that you would need to know practically. Survival, first aid, edible plants, things like that.

"It is." She beamed at me and I smiled from ear to ear. The twins looked even glummer.

"Thank you, Hermione, and Ron."

"Here you go, Nora." Neville handed me a heavy box and I was wary.

I opened it to find a little cauldron. Inside was a thin ashy powder. "Did you get me floo powder?" He nodded and grinned.

"I thought you shouldn't have to use Andi to get everywhere and you never know when it can come in handy." Harry handed me a brown paper wrapped soft bundle.

"Not regifting one of mum's sweaters are we Harry?" George teased.

"No, I hold you like them, I had to have Hagrid pick it up since I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmead." Inside was a pair of enchanted tights that showed the Irish Quidditch team flying around throwing a quaffle to each other. I climbed over the table and hugged my friends. Everyone was so wonderful. I'd never had a better birthday.

The twins frowned and ate their food. I went to take my things up to my room when I ran into Professor Lupin.

"What do you have there, Nora?" He asked, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar.

"Birthday gifts from my friends." He smiled lazily.

"I didn't know today was your birthday."

"I don't think it actually is, sir, it was just the day I was dropped off at the orphanage. I didn't have much in the way of information on my past, just a note pinned to my wrap that said my name was Nora Black." I shrugged when he gave me a sad look. "It's not a big deal, I keep waiting for you or Snape or Dumbledore to confirm that Sirius Black is my father or not. I just want to know what happened." I smiled and told him I'd be back down to get the grindylow.


	10. Prisoner of Azkaban part 4

The giant squid had helped me catch the water demon but now I had to get it up to the castle without it strangling me. Gisborne carried the tank on his back to the grounds and then I helped Andi keep it steady as we made our way to the doors. Remus met me and took the tank.

"Thank you for that, Nora, now if I heard the Weasley twins grumbling earlier, you have a very important appointment at The Three Broomsticks."

I blushed, "Thanks." I hurried past him to the one-eyed witch passage, Andi appeared and sat on my shoulder.

I slipped down the passage and ran to Honeyduke's cellar. I slipped up the stairs and out without anyone seeing me. The Three Broomsticks was at the end of the street and I stopped when I saw the big black dog watching me from the shadows. I stepped into the narrow space between two buildings.

"What are you doing here?" I had been very confused when he showed up at the shrieking shack but hadn't thought much of it.

He sat down and gave me a look that made him seem more human. He had gained a little weight or maybe it was fur for the winter. I petted his head and scratched him behind his ears. Andi nipped my ear and gave the dog a mistrusting look.

"I have to go meet a boy at The Three Broomsticks, but you need to stay out of trouble, okay?" I walked to the pub and found Seamus sitting in one of the corner booths that hid us from the rest of the pub. I slid in next to him and he pulled his frothy butter beer away from his mouth, leaving a line of foam on his upper lip. I smiled at him and rubbed the end of my sleeve over his mouth to wipe it away.

"Thanks." He blushed and slid mine over. I sipped it and grinned.

"This is really good." He nodded and we drank a little more.

After a comfortable silence Seamus looked over at me. "I like you. I mean I like you as more than just a friend." I nodded.

"I think I like you more, too, Seamus." He smiled.

"Honest?" I nodded.

"I mean I don't know exactly what I feel, but I know I enjoy spending time with you."

"Me too." I heard a rustle by the door. There were two flashes of bright orange hair and one twin drug the other out the door kicking and hitting. I sighed.

"I think that the twins won't be too happy."

"They can sod off, both of them, especially Fred, need to stop being so protective of you, it's really annoying." I looked at him.

"No it isn't they're my friends and they look out for me." I went to get out of the booth and Seamus touched my arm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to sound as bad as it did."

I sat back down and looked at him.

We talked a little more and I drank down my butterbeer, Dean Thomas came over and I excused myself. I had to go find the twins.

I walked into Zonko's and smiled. This was one of my favorite places. All of the jokes and pranks called my name. I saw George and Fred arguing in the back of the store. I snuck around and listened to them argue.

"…have to stop trying to sabotaging all of her dates."

"But he's just a right foul git, always blowing stuff up."

"You know that isn't true. Well he does blow stuff up but he isn't a git and you just won't admit you like her as more than your best friend." Fred scoffed.

"I don't! I just think that she picks pretty bad guys to like."

"Whatever, Freddie, I bet she's done now let's go find her." I waited for them to walk away so they didn't know I had been listening. I now knew why Fred had been such a pain lately. I just wanted to believe it was because he truly didn't like the guys I liked.

I walked up behind the towering ginger twins and slipped my arms through one crook of each of their arms.

"Hello, lovely weather we're having this evening."

"Quite smashing, yes, quite smashing, dear." We all stuck our noses in air and kept a haughty tone while we walked out of the store. The three of us found our way to the Shrieking Shack. We sat there and looked at the dilapidated old house for a while and shared a box of Bertie Bopp's.

"I don't think I'm going to date Seamus." I finally said.

"Why?" George said with amusement.

"He doesn't understand why I spend so much time with you two weirdos."

Fred smirked. "We don't either."

"But Oliver though…" I sighed forlornly. Fred slapped his hand over my mouth and his ears turned red.

"Don't be serious. Mum would have a coronary if she heard about you being with a seventh year." George nodded.

"Every letter she sends us has some part regarding you."

"Why?" Even though I knew why, it was still nice to hear it.

"She has adopted you and Harry as honorary dark haired Weasleys at this point."

"Never shuts up about you when we're there, 'now you stop getting Nora into so much trouble' or 'keep Nora out of trouble' my personal favorite being 'she must get it all from being around you two so much!'." Fred said with a laugh. We stood up and I ran towards the shrieking shack after I jumped the fence.

"Let's prove her wrong! I'm just as much as a mischief maker as you two!"

They ran after me and chased me through the empty house howling like banshees. I stopped when I got up to the bed room I stopped and looked at the walls. There were huge scratches and tears in the wallpaper. I walked to the window and looked up at where we had been sitting. A group of Hogwarts students were gathered around but they weren't looking at the house. There was a flurry of activity and I realized that someone was getting beat up. I grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked. They were Slytherins and I saw that one of them was kicking Thatcher. I growled and dropped my backpack running out of the room and past my friends. "Watch my stuff, I have some arse to kick." I growled again and turned into my massive wolf hound and bounded out of the house towards the group of kids. I got to the edge and snarled. All the kids looked at me in fear and most of them, the smart ones anyway, ran off. I growled at the remaining three boys. Surprisingly, it wasn't Malfoy and his goons, these were three sixth years who I hadn't met. I made like I was going to attack them and they ran off. I looked down at Thatcher and whined. I transformed back into a human and kneeled next to him. He was bleeding and I frowned.

"Bloody hell, Nora."

"Why were they hitting you?" I said, still fuming.

"They don't think it's awfully funny that I don't particularly fancy the female gender. Let's get back to the fact that you were just a bloody dog."

"That isn't what matters. Why didn't you fight back?" I pulled him up into a sitting position.

"Because if I fought back, they'd just hit harder."

"You need to hit back."

"Renora Lily Black!" The twins yelled at me, running from the house.

I helped up Thatcher and cringed when the twins got to me.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a bloody animagus?"I sighed.

"Because it never came up in conversation."

"You need to tell us what's going on. _Now." _ I sat back down on the ground.

"I got bored over the summer so I decided that I should try and be an animagus. You don't particularly get to pick the animal you turn into. Mine's a bloody big black dog. Don't call me the grim or I'll hex you for a year."

"That's bloody amazing." I nodded and Thatcher sat next to me putting his handkerchief to his bleeding lip.

"Thanks." I rubbed my neck. It still was really exhausting to transform but I had read that it would get easier with practice. I heard the bells ringing signaling we needed to get back to the school. I rode on Fred's back to the shrieking shack. "Now Thatcher, I'm keeping you on your honor you won't tell anyone about this secret passage because if you do, I'll never speak to you again." He nodded.

"Cross my heart." Fred grumbled something about sharing all our secret tricks but I just rolled my eyes and pointed to the little trapdoor that led to under the Whomping Willow.

Harry was bombarded with treats Ron and Hermione had bought for him in Hogsmead. Andi acted cross with me since I had gone out when I had told her I was staying at the castle and she wouldn't come down from the rafters.

I had to go down and help set up for the Halloween feast as punishment for setting off a package of stink bombs I had slipped in Crabbe's, Goyle's, and Malfoy's robes. They deserved it and I didn't care that Snape had given me another detention on my birthday. It was practically a tradition now.

I went to the dungeons to get the boxes full of enchanted pumpkins. Snape was walking out of his office and looked at me. "Good afternoon, professor."

"Good afternoon, Miss Black." I kept walking towards the storage closet. "Stop, for a moment. I need to speak with you."

"Yes, sir?"

"You should take care, running around the way you do with professor Lupin, there's a killer on the loose and I would think that it would not do for you to be out after dark." I nodded politely.

"I'll take care, thank you sir." I grabbed the boxes and he was gone by the time I came back out.

The feast was great as usual. The twins wanted to tell everyone and their aunt about me being an animagus but I kept jibbing them in the ribs. Seamus kept making faces at me to get me to smile.

After we had filled ourselves with all the food, Seamus held my hand as we were in the big group of kids going back up to the common room. I was smiling and laughing until the crowd stopped moving. There was a murmur that turned into a panic. I squeezed through the crowd and the twins pulled me to them. The Fat Lady was gone, he picture was torn and slashed. I closed my eyes and sighed. Percy came up and told everyone to calm down. Dumbledore appeared and it was revealed, via Peeves, that it had been Sirius Black.

Dumbledore told everyone to go to their houses and for the Gryffindors to go to the Great Hall. I didn't even bother moving. The headmaster looked at me,

"Nora, I hear that you have become quite the animagus. I need you to try and sniff out an intruder."

"Professor, I don't think it works that way." He gave me a stern look and I sighed. "Fine." I handed him my backpack and robe, my dress underneath was enchanted. I transformed into my large wolf hound form and started sniffing around the picture.

I ended up having to search the entire castle. I kept getting hints and whiffs of someone new but as soon as I picked them up, they were gone. I finally caught a strong trail and I let my nose lead me up staircases and through secret hallways. I ended up right outside my secret room. I transformed back into a human and drew my wand. I pushed open the door and rushed in, scanning to room. There was someone standing at the window.


	11. Prisoner of Azkaban part 5

"Sirius Black." I said with a rock steady voice.

The skinny, sick looking man turned slowly and I saw that this was not a mad man, this was a sad man. He looked at me in the shaft of moonlight and I saw his eyes widen and a very slow, big smile spread across his face. "Renora." He said softly. I knew in that moment he was my father and that I would never hurt him.

"It's just Nora." I took a step closer to him.

"I am sorry to have us meet like this." I sat down on my piano bench.

"Are you here to hurt Harry? Did you betray the Potters? Please say you didn't. Everyone has been saying so many terrible things about you and I really couldn't say one way or another but I also didn't know you were my dad or not and it's been so confusing and I want to know why you left me at an orphanage and no one will tell me anything and—" Sirius Black was crushing me in a hug.

I was crying. "I will answer all of your questions." I hugged him tight.

"Okay." We sat on some cushions and he answered all of my questions as well as he could.

"No, I'm not here to hurt Harry, I would never hurt Harry. He's my godson. I didn't betray the Potters, Peter Pettigrew did and that's why I'm in the castle." I went to speak and he held up his hand. "I'm obviously your father, from what I've seen you've inherited your mother's looks and my mischief. Now about the orphanage…"

I pulled a blanket around my shoulders and listened to my past.

"You're mother and I were never formally married. She played hard to get even after we got out of school. It was when we were in the Order of the Phoenix together that we… became closer and then we fell in love which just about broke Remus's heart, he loved her, too. You came along and we were happy. We lived together in Godrick's hollow near Lily and James. When Harry came along, you never saw two babies who enjoyed each other's company more. Everything was fine until Peter Pettigrew gave up our secret. Bellatrix Lestrange, my retched cousin came to our house while Voldemort went to the Potter's. I was out on a quick mission for the Order and your mum was home looking after you." I twisted the ends of my blanket nervously, "Bellatrix came in and tried to kill you. She thought you an abomination because even though your mother was a pure-blooded witch, and I a pure-blooded wizard, we were too unlike our families. You were so strong, even then. Your mum grabbed you and distracted Bellatrix long enough to get out of the house and was running towards Lily, James, and Harry but she didn't make it. Bellatrix killed her but you were holding on to your mom and the curse passed through your body leaving only a scar on your back." Sirius took a deep breath and wiped away a tear.

"So I should have died?"

He nodded. "To this day I have no idea how you survived. I came back as soon as I felt something wrong. I found you in your mother's arms. Hagrid had dug out Harry and I asked him if I could take him, because I foolishly thought I could take care of you both. He told me that Dumbledore had ordered that he be sent to those vile Dursley's. I gave Hagrid my motorbike and knew that everyone thought I had been their secret keeper and I would be hunted to the ends of the earth. The funny thing about you, Nora, is that you were never processed through a hospital or the ministry. You were born in such a hectic time that it never really came up." He laughed softly. "You were born behind the bar in a little pub while Lupin, the Longbottoms, James, and I all battled Death-eaters. We didn't have time to make it official. You don't have the trace on you because legally, you don't exist, that's why you can do magic outside of school without getting penalized by the ministry."

It was early morning by the time I went back down to the common room, even though I had been awake all night, I wasn't tired. I had told Sirius that he would be safe up in my secret hide away. He was exhausted and hungry so I gave him some of the candy I had stashed away with the promise of real food as soon as I could swing it.

It was early enough that I knew everyone would still be down in the Great Hall having one big Percy Weasley approved sleepover so that's where I headed. The big oak doors were silent as I slipped through. There were a bunch of squishy purple sleeping bags filled with the sleeping forms of my fellow Gryffindors. I saw the twins had set up camp in front of the unlit fireplace and I walked over to them and curled up between the two boys, using my jacket as a blanket. I shut my eyes and smiled. I finally had a father.

Sirius Black was all that the school could talk about after that. It was harder and harder to get away from my friends and go up and visit Sirius. He needed to get out of the castle but I hadn't found a suitable place besides the shrieking shack and with winter coming up, I didn't want him in that cold shanty.

We talked about a lot of stuff. I told him about the twins' and my pranks. I thought he would alert the entire school with his laughter when I told him about putting the dung bomb in Lucius Malfoy's pocket last year. It made me very happy to hear him laugh. He was proud of how much of a mischief maker I had become. He was considerably less enthused when I told him how good I was at potions and how Snape was giving me advanced lessons. I also talked about Harry and how he was a Quidditch star. The team was practicing every night until dark and their first match was coming up soon. I told Sirius that if he could swing it, he could sit in one of the abandoned house boxes so he could watch it. He said that it would be the day he went to the Shrieking Shack. I couldn't argue with him on that because the teachers had been eyeing me suspiciously ever since Halloween.

The day of the Quidditch match arrived with freezing temperatures and pounding rain. Sirius had found a sheltered spot up in one of the seating towers and I went down to wish my friends luck.

"Oliver." I said to the stressed out seventh year. He jumped and slammed shut his play book.

"Nora, you scared me."

"Switch to decaf Wood." I hugged him and he squeezed me tight.

"I just have to win the Quidditch cup, I just have to." I smoothed his hair and smiled.

"You will, Oliver, you will." I kissed him on the cheek as the twins bounded over. I hugged them together and wished them luck. I wanted to enchant Harry's glasses so they would be impervious to the rain but Seamus was looking for me. I pulled my hood up and he ran over to me holding a big scarlet and gold umbrella.

"Ready to go up and watch the game?" I nodded and he grabbed my hand. It was okay that he was holding my hand but it didn't feel the same as when Sawyer held my hand in Diagon Alley.

I was soaked with ran even with the umbrella. Seamus pulled off his sweater and I pulled it on over my cold, wet, Weasley sweater, this one was patterned with Quidditch snitches. I dried myself off and made my jacket impervious to the rain. I did the same for Seamus and Neville who appeared next to me. The game was hard to follow since the rain was so thick. I could barely see the players and Angelina almost flew into the railing. I had yelled at her to pull up and by some miracle she heard me over the din of the rain because there was no way she could have seen the wall in time.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My scars started to ache and burn and I knew the dementors were near. Seamus touched my arm when I whipped around to see where they were. A massive group of the happiness sucking demons. I looked for Harry but I couldn't see him through the rain. Seamus grabbed me when my knees gave out from the phantom pain rolling through my body.

"What's wrong?" He was so worried.

"Harry…"

I fought through the crowd even though the closer I got to the field and swarm of dementors the more I hurt. I reached the muddy ground and I struggled to walk. A dark form was falling from high in the air and I pulled out my wand.

"_Arresto Momento!" _I yelled and Harry's body slowed. Dumbledore ran out as I fell to my knees to take care of Harry. I fell on my hands and gasped for breath. The mud seeped through my pants and I felt two people lift me up and help me off the field. We stopped outside the locker room I sat on the bench, catching my breath.

The twins squatted down in front of me and both had a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" They asked in sync and I nodded. Remus ran to me and searched his pockets for something.

"Here, eat this." He held out a big chocolate bar and I snapped off a big chunk of it. I told Remus thank you and the twins were reluctant to leave me. I told them that I wanted them to go check on Harry because I would be up to the medical wing in a little while. They refused to leave without me so I was drug up to the castle to be looked over by Madame Pomfrey.

I sat down on a bed and everyone on the Quidditch team swarmed around Harry's bed. The twins sat on either side of me. Oliver hadn't come up here because he was upset that he had lost even though Diggory had caught the snitch fair and square. I sighed. Ced would feel bad about that for a long time. I helped him with his potions homework every once and a while and he was such a nice person that he would be the one to ask for a rematch.

I snuck out of the hospital wing when Hermione and Ron brought up the bad news about Harry's broom. The trip down to the boy's showers was a cold one but I waited outside for Wood. He either wanted to drown himself or stay in there forever. I knocked on the door and didn't get an answer but I could hear the shower going. I walked in, the showers were hidden so it wasn't like I was looking at naked Oliver. I heard someone mumbling angrily.

"Ollie?" I said softly, using the nickname I only brought out in private for Wood. Oliver stuck his head out from behind the shower wall and his eyes got wide. I turned around.

"Bloody hell Nora! What the hell are you doing in here?!" I heard the screech as he turned off the water and the snap of his towel when he pulled it off the side. He stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his waist. I covered my eyes.

"I just came to make sure that you weren't going terminally Myrtle and flood the bathrooms." He laughed and I smiled, hands still firmly clasped over my eyes. He walked past me and grabbed his stack of clothes. "When you didn't answer when I knocked I assumed the worst. I came in expecting to see you in tears, sobbing in the shower like some sad teenage girl after a dance goes badly."

He pulled my hands away from my face and held them. He was a head taller than me. My heart was pounding more it should have been.

"There'll be other Quidditch matches, Ollie, you lost by what? A hundred points? That's not a big deal. You can easily make that up, if Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff by-" Oliver pressed his lips against mine. I froze. He pulled away and we both turned red.

"Sorry." I nodded at his apology and we just looked at each other awkwardly.

I didn't know why I was about to do what I was about to do but I knew I had to do it or else I'd feel bad for not doing it. I put my hands on the sides of his face and smiled.

"You're a much better Quidditch player than kisser, Wood." He rolled his eyes.

"I knew you were going to say something stupid like that. I didn't mean anything by that kiss, I don't know why I did it."

"Maybe to make me shut up about Quidditch."

"Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving." I knew he was covering up that he felt really bad about losing the game and I didn't want to think about the little kiss he just planted on me. I had Seamus, he was a good boy who cared about me.

"And then he went and bloody kissed me!" I paced around my dormitory with Andi on my shoulder, talking to Hermione. I rubbed my eyes.

"You went into the boys' showers?" I groaned.

"Do try and keep up dear, he was clothed. What should I do about the kiss? It didn't mean anything but if I tell the twins, they'll be furious, if anyone else finds out that I kissed a seventh year, they'll think I'm a slag." I sighed and flopped onto my bed, squeezing my pillow to my chest and Andi rubbed he face against mine.

"I think that you shouldn't tell anyone." I looked up.

"Really?" She nodded.

"It seems like it's more trouble than it's worth." I nodded.

"I agree." I got up and went to check on Harry who was despondent over his broom being smashed when he fell. I walked into the common room and Oliver looked at me from the table. I blushed and he winked at me. I hurried out and to the hospital wing.

Everything was fine for a few weeks, Oliver and I got back to normal, although it still felt a little off kilter between us. Seamus backed off a little but he did dance with me when I brought my record player into the common room to play some music.

Now I was walking to eat lunch. It was the end of November and Wood's spirits were high since Ravenclaw smashed Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match. The twins and Harry had practice this morning and I was going to hang out with Thatcher in the herbology greenhouses because they were warm. The doors banged open and every head in the Great Hall turned and two red-faced twins came storming towards me. I stood, frozen as they charged me.

"YOU KISSED OLIVER WOOD!" They both yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. I heard snickers rise up throughout the hall. Wood walked through the door looking miserable. I pushed my way past the twins and ran out, bumping into Wood as I left. The twins ran after me. I tried to shake them but they were persistent. I turned and faced them in one of the stairways.

"Did he tell you?" I covered my face with my hands. I wiped the tears off my face and looked at them. When they saw I was crying, the anger in their faces turned to concern and they hugged me.

"Not exactly." George said, pulling off his practice robes.

"We may have slipped him so veritus serum we knicked from Snape in his water bottle because he'd been acting all weird lately." Fred said.

"How the bloody hell did I come up?"

"We didn't realize it had worked and while we were in the locker room, George said something about you and then Oliver just spilt the beans. You'd think he'd given up his entire play book by the look on his face when he realized he said it. Gave Harry a right good shock, too."

"You two have to make this right. Everyone's going to think I'm just some slag now and it's because you two couldn't leave well enough alone." They furrowed their brow.

"No one would think that, Nora." I shook my head.

"I'm a third year, my best friends are fifth year _boys _and Oliver is a seventh year so everyone probably thinks there's something going on between at least one of you two and now they think I'm shagging Oliver." I groaned and the twins frowned.

"Sorry." They said together and I shook my head.

"I wish you two would just know when you need to stay out of my business." I walked off to meet Thatcher, he'd listen to me and give me the best advice he could.

I sat down in an armchair and Thatcher pulled out a thermos of tea. I took a cup and sighed as I sipped it.

"No one's going to think you're easy, Nora." He said it in such a reassuring manner I almost believed it.

"How do you know?" He sipped his tea.

"Because you have enough friends that will stand up for you. Not a whole lot of people care that you kissed him because you don't go around kissing lots of blokes."

"I hope you're right, Thatch."

"I always am." He opened his book and started reading.


	12. Prisoner of Azkaban part 6

Guys... I've seriously hit a wall with this story, I know where I want to go, just not how to get there, sorry it's such a small update!

Ron and Hermione were staying with Harry for the Christmas holidays and for that I was happy. The twins said their mum wanted me to come and spend Christmas with them, but I declined. Hagrid needed someone to celebrate with, and by celebrate I mean someone to make sure he didn't bargain for any dangerous creatures down at the pub like when he got Aragog, Fluffy, or Norbit.

I was waiting with the twins to go to Hogsmead and Harry was walking past, I could almost hear the sad Charlie Brown music playing since he was stuck at the castle, I sighed and pulled out the Marauder's map. The twins sighed sadly and nodded.

"Let's do it, then." We all walked up and Harry was surprised.

"Why aren't you at Hogsmead yet?"

"Came to give you a little festive cheer before we leave." I handed Harry the packet of parchment and pulled him into the nearest classroom.

"What's this rubbish?" The twins and I laughed.

"'What's this rubbish?' he says." George smirked, "That right there is the secret to our success!"

"It's a wrench, giving it to you, but Nora's convinced us that your needs are greater than ours."

"How'd you get this?" Harry asked, looking at the little moving feet and names.

"Knicked it from Flich's office, first year."

"They had gone and set off a dung bomb in the hallway-" I started.

"And he went and got mad for some reason." Fred continued.

"Drug us off to his office and we noticed this filing cabinet that said 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'." George's smile grew wide.

"Don't tell me you two-" Harry grinned.

"George dropped another dung bomb and Fred grabbed the map." I shrugged. "I reckon Flich knew roughly what it was but could never work it properly."

"That has taught us more than all the teachers in the school." I pulled out my wand.

"You're just winding me up, aren't you?" We all shook our heads.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." I touched the parchment and the familiar names of the marauder's appeared. I know knew all of the names after talking with Sirius about them.

"Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder's map."

Fred and George sighed. "We owe them so much." We showed Harry the secret passages that led right to Hogsmead.

"Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor, it caved in last winter."

"But when you're done, don't forget to wipe it." George warned.

"Or anyone can read it," Fred cautioned.

"Just tap it with your wand and say, 'Mischief Managed'." I did as I said and the map went blank.

I headed down to Hogsmead bundled up in ninety percent of Weasley made clothing. The twins were in high spirits considering they had just given up their most favorite toy. Seamus waved to me from where he and Dean were hanging out in front of the post office. I didn't really want to stop because as soon as I slowed down, a group of Slytherin girls stopped and snickered at me, talking to each other behind their hands. I pulled my hat down lower and trudged on.

The twins and I went into Zonko's but didn't buy much other than the basic wet-start fireworks and dung bombs. I told them I would catch up with them when we got back up to school, I was going to check on Harry.

I couldn't find him in Honeyduke's, I checked the post office, still no sign. I walked into the three broomsticks and saw Ron and Hermione half hidden behind a Christmas tree. They made eye contact with me and tried to tell me something. I looked around the pub which was full of mostly students and then I saw Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid, Madame Rosmerta, and the Minister of Magic himself, Mr. Cornelius Fudge.

I knew something was up and so I walked slowly over to where my friends were sitting and listened to the conversation next to Harry under the table.

"…I COMFORTED THE MUERDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid boomed. "And he abandoned his daughter at some muggle orphanage that didn't tell her nothin' about who she was or where she come from!" I cringed and knew he was talking about me.

"What?" The minister said, shocked.

"I should not have said that." Hagrid said quietly.

"Sirius Black has a daughter?" I needed McGonagall to smooth things over really quickly.

"Minister, I believe our first concern should be keeping Harry Potter safe, I do not think Sirius Black will be looking for the daughter he gave up twelve years ago."

I crawled out from under the table and Hagrid saw me.

"Sirius Black is a dangerous criminal who needs to be stopped. We should take his daughter in for questioning right away. She may know something we do not." Hagrid shook his head violently as I approached the table. Harry grabbed my ankle and I looked down.

"Let me go, Harry James Potter." He did because when I used his full name in that tone, it was better to let me do my own thing. I walked up to the table with a thinly veiled look of contempt on my face.

"Good evening, Minister, I believe you're looking for me?" His eyes grew wide with fright and he couldn't spit out his words.

"How—How did you hear our conversation." I laughed humorlessly.

"You think that just because you're sitting in the middle of a pub that it mutes your conversation?" He turned beet red.

"Well I say!"

"I'm not going to tell you about Sirius Black because you don't really care what I know or what I have to say because you just want to make sure your little slip up gets taken care of. Can't have criminals breaking out of Azkaban now can we? What would the Prophet say about the Ministry then?" He was so appalled that I was saying this, along with the teachers. I turned on my heel and marched out. I ran into Seamus on his way into the pub and I grabbed his hand, pulling him with me.

"Want to take a walk with me? I think I just screwed up big and should get out of the general area.

"Yeah, of course. What did you do?"

I pulled him into the woods and then I slowed down. We walked beside a frozen stream.

"I may have actually just told off the Minister of Magic for wanting to take me in for questioning about Sirius Black."

"Bloody hell, Nora. Why'd you do that for?" His cheeks were turning bright red from the cold and I knew mine were too.

"Because I wasn't going to give up information about my dad."

He let out low whistle. "So Sirius Black is your dad, then?" I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Wow."

We were standing at the back of the Shrieking Shack the fence at the back was a lot sturdier than out front. Seamus leaned on the wire fence and I leaned next to him. Our breath fogged in front of us.

"Did you really snog Wood?"

"He kissed me. It's been a while ago, though." I tried to play it off as I rubbed my hands together to warm them up in my purple mittens.

Seamus took my hands between his own and blew hot air on them, warming them much more efficiently. He didn't let go and my heart hammered. It wasn't even that I wanted a boyfriend. I didn't need a bloke slowing me down when I went out exploring or on a mission for Dumbledore. He leaned closer to me and sighed. His eyes were closed and I didn't know what to do. I gave him a quick peck on the lips that turned into a longer kiss. When we pulled away, we were both red from embarrassment.

"Did you feel anything?" I asked him, frowning. It was an okay kiss, a little on the cold side, but not an altogether bad kiss. I just didn't feel nearly the rush when he kissed me that I had when he had been holding my hands, expectantly.

He shook his head. "Not really, I thought it would feel different." I have him a 'sorry' face and he shrugged. "I guess it'll just be better if we stay just friends." I nodded.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." I hugged him and his arms were warm around me. "I have to get back up to the castle, I just remembered I have to tell Professor Lupin something." I walked with him up to The Three Broomsticks.

"Bye, Nora." I pulled Seamus's hat down over his eyes and laughed lightly.

"Bye Seamus." I hugged him and whispered. "I hear that Angelina's little sister fancies you, maybe you should offer to buy her a butterbeer." I pointed out the second year who quickly looked away from us.

I ran up to Lupin's office and stopped short. I heard voices inside.

"I know you helped him into the castle, now tell me where is he?" Snape was furious.

"I didn't help Sirius Black, the man who murdered my best friends, into Hogwarts, Severus." I pressed my ear against the door of his office.

"I told Dumbledore you were a risk, Black on the loose and you being so close to his daughter would not mix well." I heard heels clack on flagstones and I hurried for somewhere to hide. The only spot was behind a statue of a pig and it was iffy on if that would even hide me. I crouched low and held my breath when the door opened. Snape walked away down the opposite way from where I was hiding. I stood up and ran in the office.

"Professor." I said. He looked up lazily from his desk. He looked so tired and sad.

"Shouldn't you be at Hogsmead with the rest of the third years, Nora?" He flipped through a packet of parchment and I sat down.

"Why are you so sad? Werewolf stigma, okay, but the rest of it, is it all because of Harry's parents and my mother? My father isn't a bad man." Lupin's eyes widened.

"How can you say that!?" He slammed his hands on his desk, knocking off stacks of papers. "He betrayed your best friend's parents. James and Lily made them their secret keeper!" I stood up. Sirius had told me to keep it in the strictest confidence that I knew what had actually happened.

"No he didn't!" He thought that they should switch, secretly. So Voldemort would go after my father and never suspect any different. He was willing to die to protect his friends." My voice was steadier than I thought it would be. "He wasn't ever the secret keeper. Peter Pettigrew was." Remus was taken aback.

"But… that's not possible, even Dumbledore didn't know."

"That's the point, no one knew except Sirius, the Potters, and Pettigrew."

"You have been talking to Sirius Black and you haven't come forward with the information?" I sighed.

"I told off the Minister of Magic regarding my dad and he didn't take it very well…" I was expecting a stern talking to but what I got was a loud laugh.

I looked up at the professor and he was clutching his sides with laughter. He sat down and kept laughing. I felt my lips tug up at the corners and chuckled.

"It was really marvelously stupid of me, wasn't it? Oh bloody hell, they're going to be on the lookout for me, aren't they?" Lupin slowed his laughter and sighed, looking up at me.

"Renora, you are both incredibly brave and unbelievably foolish, just like your father." I smiled knowing that I was like my father.

In a fit of end of the term spirits, the twins and I set off a long string of dung bombs in the corridor and then I walked them to the Hogwarts express for their trip home.

"You know, Mum's been begging us to get you to come home with us," George hugged me.

"Says its not good for you to stay cooped up at Hogwarts all the time." Fred hugged me. I enjoyed the smell of his jacket and the warmth of his arms around me.

"You know I have to stay with Harry."

"Yeah, we know, but maybe you should do something for yourself for a change." I waved them goodbye and Neville bumped into me.

"S-sorry Nora, I was just late for the train." I hugged him.

"Have a happy holiday, Neville." I kissed him in a friendly way on the cheek and he turned red. He grinned awkwardly and ran off to the train.

Andi squawked and landed on my shoulder, she was wearing a scarf and a knit hat. It would have been funnier if it was a prank but she genuinely liked wearing the little clothes Mrs. Weasley made for her.


	13. Prisoner of Azkaban part 7

I was cocooned in my blankets. Andi was curled up against my stomach and then Hermione was shaking me awake.

"Nora! It's Christmas!" I sighed and pulled my blankets over my face.

"Go open your presents with Ron and Harry. Let me sleep." I had stayed out too late with Sirius last night spending Christmas Eve with him in the Shrieking Shack and drinking butterbeer.

"No, come on, we agreed that we'd do it together in the common room." I saw at the foot of my bed was a pile of presents. I tossed them into the center of my quilt and hauled them out the door. Hermione had left before me and Andi swooped down the steps. Ron had his mouth stuffed full of candy and Harry was holding the long box that had the broom Sirius had bought for him.

Harry was so excited when he opened the box. It was worth not telling him who his godfather was… almost.

Christmas dinner was small, and the fact that Professor Trelawney had predicted that either Ron or Harry found die first out of the group of it. Hermione didn't help things when, against my warning not to, she told McGanagal about the Firebolt Harry got for Christmas with no tag. I told Sirius he should let me sign it or put some cryptic message on it, he was such a drama queen I thought he'd like that, but he went for the mystery gift. Bad idea. The lovely broom was now being combed over for hexes and jinxes and all the other non-existent bad things Sirius did to the broom. He'd consider it a grave offense to do something to that broom.

Thatch and I went for a chilly walk to work off some of the massive amount of food we ate.

"So Fred told you that he's mad for you, yet?" I coughed on my warm butterbeer and stopped walking.

"You're bloody crazy, mate."

"No, you're blind," Thatch looked at me like I was an idiot. "Haven't you seen the way he acts around you? George has to practically drag him away to give you and another boy some time alone."

"He's just being protective." I rolled my eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that and when you believe it, tell me again." I shoved my hands in my pockets and my friend wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "He's a very good guy. You'd be very lucky to get a man like him." I blushed and he squeezed me. "Oh Nora, this year you've gone above and beyond in the love area this year, dear." I pressed my face against his robe and groaned.

"But I don't really want a boy right now."

"Well you've got your pick of them when you come to your senses."

It was starting to snow hard and we slipped into the hall. An owl slammed into my chest and I grabbed Errol. He was breathing heavily and holding a thick letter. I sat him on a warm hearth and tore open the envelope. I pulled out a folding sheet of paper and a necklace that had a medallion the laughing wizard that the boys were using for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Thatch smirked and pointed at the letter.

Dear Nora,

I know I've been a sod lately but I wanted to tell you that I- the writing was disappearing and I hadn't read it fast enough to even see who it was from, I could only assume Fred.

"Bloody hell." Thatch grumbled and took the blank sheet and pointed his wand at it, trying to get the writing to show up.

"It's no use, I made that invisible ink, and it's not going to come back."

I took the paper back and folded it to shove in my backpack. Errol was snoring and I'd let him sleep.

Thatch walked me back to my common room bemoaning the horrible crime that was Fred writing me a letter in disappearing ink. I didn't tell him again that it was just invisible ink. He wished me a Happy Christmas again and went back to the Slytherin common room.

I sat on my bed and held the empty paper twirling the magic glasses in my fingers that were needed to read the letter. I hadn't read it… yet. I didn't know if I would.

Why did boys have to go a ruin everything by writing sensitive letters in invisible ink?

The twins came back the day before classes resumed and were their normal mischievous selves. Harry was still sullen about his broom and when I told Oliver, you would have thought it was his broom that had been taken.

One thing that brightened up my day was the lessons Harry had with Professor Lupin about dementors. I helped him catch the boggarts but never practiced the Patronus he was showing Harry. I sat and watched from somewhere in his office so Harry couldn't see me and get nervous.

I listened while Lupin talked to Harry about how horrible the dementors' kiss would be and how existence would be bleak for anyone whom it happened to. I shuddered to think of that happening to my dad.

Sirius and I had been spending as much time as we could together and he was excited to sneak back onto school grounds to watch Harry practice and play Quidditch again. He was appalled that I did not know how to fly a broom and had offered to buy me one but I declined.

Fred acted the way he always had, maybe even a little less protective than usual so I just shrugged and figured he decided that he didn't like me the way Thatch thought and went along pranking with him.

Everything was good until Ron's rat disappeared. He kept being really mean to Hermione and finally the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw I yelled at him in front of everyone to stop being such a foul git over a rat that wasn't even a good rat. Scabbers had been sickly and probably ran off to die. The twins were in agreement with me and Ron got mad about that.

The morning before the Quidditch game everyone walked with Harry down to breakfast and their eyes were on the Firebolt. Cedric Diggory came up and winked at me. The twins bristled behind me and I smiled. He congratulated Harry of having such a good replacement for his Nimbus and he wished the team good luck.

"What was that about?" Hermione giggled as she sat beside me.

"I help him with his potions homework sometimes. He's a real charmer."

"Ooooooh." Hermione teased and I smiled.

"Not like that, Hermione, he's just a friend." Fred tossed Ced a dark look and George jibbed him in the ribs, whispering something. I went back to eating my oats and eggs.

I was watching Harry zip around on his Firebolt during the match but three shifting black figures caught my attention down by the entrance to the pitch. I was almost there when I heard a blood curdling scream. I burst out to get a face full of black fabric that I batted away. I grabbed Goyle and punched him in the nose. He touched it and howled when he felt he blood. I kicked his arse out of the way and hooked Crabbe with a quick punch to the jaw. Malfoy was quivering, still draped in his black fabric to make him look like a dementor. Marcus Flint was running away. I snarled at him and he flinched.

"NORA!" Remus yelled at me. I had Malfoy by the collar and was tearing him a new one about dressing up like a dementor when he didn't realize what they did to people.

Crabbe and Goyle were too busy nursing their injuries to help their 'superior' out. All the Quidditch players landed and some were cheering.

The teachers all filed out onto the grass. Lupin grabbed me by my robes and I shoved Malfoy so he almost fell. Dumbledore looked very angry. I stopped fighting and Lupin kept a tight hold on my shirt. The twins looked at me, giving me a thumbs up sign and Madame Pomfrey ushered the two buffoons off the field. Malfoy pleaded that he also was injured and needed to go to the infirmary but Pomfrey shrugged and said he hadn't been hurt.

"Professor Lupin, please see that Miss Black is taken to my office, I will be alone shortly after I have a discussion with Mr. Malfoy here. We do not need any more blood spilt today." Dumbledore said with a half-joking tone. Lupin briskly escorted me out of the pitch and up to the castle.

"I believe what I did was right." Remus had stopped me right inside the main doors to yell at me like he was my father.

"Nora! Do you think that beating people to a bloody pulp is the way to rectify the situation?" I adverted my eyes.

"All they understand is violence, and even then, they'll go back to being mindless troll guards in a few days. No offense." I said to the ogre stationed at the door to keep Sirius Black away. He made a confused noise and I shook my head. "Never mind." Lupin and I continued walking.

"You are an incredibly intelligent young lady and yet you make brash, hot-headed decisions that someday could get you killed."

"I did what my father and James Potter would have done." I said ignorantly. Lupin's face turned red.

"Don't you understand? They were my best friends in the world and they were bullies. Sirius and James made fun of everyone. Severus Snape was embarrassed in front of the whole school and that was what set him on the dark path he went down. You used to say that bullies were horrible people for doing what they do and yet now you fight violence with violence instead of outsmarting them to make the world better."

"Remus." I said quietly, my face burned with embarrassment.

"I'm ashamed of you, Renora." I couldn't say anything and he marched me up to Dumbledore's office. "Don't beat anyone up while you wait." He walked back out the door and I sat down.

"I did what should have been done, right?" I looked up at the paintings of past headmasters who all looked sternly at me and shook their heads.

"Troublemaker, that one." One of them mumbled.

"Daughter of the murderer Sirius Black, knew she'd be trouble." Another agreed. I stood up and walked to where I couldn't hear them. I wiped the tears of anger and embarrassment off my cheeks.

"Nora, please, sit down." Dumbledore was standing behind his desk.

I did and he frowned at me.

"It has occurred to me that maybe I am to blame for your outbursts of anger." I raised my eyebrows.

"Why's that, headmaster?" He sighed and folded his hands.

"Because I have made you Harry's personal bodyguard and that has made you a very violent person."

"Professor I-"

"Please, let me finish speaking." I closed my mouth and looked down. "It must not be easy defending everyone who never had anyone stand up for them." I twisted the hem of the Quidditch jersey Wood gave me. "I know about all the people you defend. Maybe you should teach them how to defend themselves so you do not always have to be the brunt of punishment." He walked around his desk and put a hand on my shoulder. "I know you think that this is the way your father would have handled situations, but really he would not have stood up for a Slytherin is his life depended on it and in that respect you act like your father did but defend people like your mother did." I sighed. "I'm going to have to take ten points from Gryffindor, and give you a weeks' worth of detentions with Professor Snape." I nodded. "You may go, but please, I want you to apologize to Crabbe and Goyle, even Malfoy. You gave him a right good scare. Didn't you break his nose last year?" I grinned, looking at my lap.

"I'll go apologize, am I dismissed, professor?" He nodded slowly and I walked out. Madame Pomfrey watched me warily as I said through gritted teeth that I was sorry for pounding them bloody. Crabbe and Goyle scoffed and acted like they didn't care. I walked out without letting it bother me right now.

The twins chewed me out about fighting but then they clapped me on the back and wanted me to know that they would have done the same thing. A few people shied away from me. I understood why. I had stopped trying to be everyone's friend and started being an attack dog.

In the middle of the night I heard someone scream bloody murder and I rolled out of bed. Hermione was practically sprinting out of the room after I heard her mumble something about Ron. I grabbed a sweater to pull on over my pajamas and everyone ran into the common room where Ron was yelling about Sirius Black. Everyone watched me as I walked to him. They even did that really horrible thing where they parted and let me walk. I quietly asked Ron what happened and he looked scared to death to tell me.

"Sirius Black just threatened me with a knife." I looked around the room and Percy said he'd go get the headmaster. He looked at me with a mix of disgust and fear. I backed away from the crowd. Harry met my eyes and looked at me like I had just threatened his life. Ron wouldn't even look at me.

"I… I-"

"Did you let him in here?!" Someone yelled. I shook my head.

"No! Of course I didn't! Why would you think that?"

"Because you're his ruddy daughter now ain't you? Me mum knew anyone with the last name Black would be bad news, I guess she's right." I bumped into Neville who was as pale as a sheet.

"I would never help someone hurt my friends, Ron, you know that right?"

He didn't answer and the twins stayed back away from me.

"Traitor." Someone whispered and the room was silent. I ran out and looked at Sir Cadagon.

"Did you let Sirius Black into the common room?" The ditzy knight nodded vehemently.

"I did, fair lady, for he had the passwords, a whole list of them for the entire week." I remembered that I wrote down the passwords for Neville and he must have dropped them. I turned to go confront Sirius when the teachers and Dumbledore came running up. A few of them gave me dirty looks when I stepped away and the Gryffindors all spilled out so our tower could be searched.

I pressed myself up against the wall and when McGonagall became irate about there being a list of passwords that Sirius Black used. Neville came forward and I pushed my way through to say that I was the one who had made the list for him so I was just as guilty. We were both stripped of our rights to go on the Hogsmead trips for the rest of the year and also Neville's grandmother would be receiving a letter about what happened. I squeezed Neville's hand and promised I'd be there when the Howler came because the howlers always came. The castle was searched and I sat in my room while everyone except Hermione whispered about me. A few girls had openly called me a criminal. I walked out. I wouldn't be able to hold my tongue for much longer.

"Nora." Someone said softly from one of the over-stuffed chairs. I looked and Neville was sitting there. His eyes were red and puffy.

"Did they kick you out of your dormitory?" He nodded.

"I'm worthless, aren't I? I can't do anything right." I pulled him out of his chair and hugged him.

"No you're not. I'll sort this out. People will forgive and forget and we have to prove ourselves all over again."

"Are you sure?"

"Neville, people think I let my father come into the house and try and kill my best friends, so I can't afford to think anything else."

"They're just scared, they really don't think you'd do that. They just want someone to blame when things go sour." I squeezed him once more before I stepped away.

"Come on, we're going somewhere better than this stuffy old common room." We walked out and I took him up to my secret hideaway I split up my pillows and blankets for each of us and enchanted the ceiling to look like the universe with swirling galaxies and innumerable stars.

"Thank you, Nora, for being such a good friend. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You're welcome, sleep well."

The next day, things were not much better. Neville and I sat together at the end of the Gryffindor table alone because no one would come near us. Harry wasn't talking to me and it seemed that the Weasley's were banding together acting like I was an attempted murderer. Nothing was any better until Thatcher told me we'd skip class and go drink tea by the Black Lake. I couldn't argue with that.

Gisborne joined us and I knew that he and Thatcher were very close. I smiled to myself and cupped my warm mug of tea as the still chilly spring air blew off the lake. With Gisborne on one side and Thatcher on the other, I was warm.

I explained what had happened to Gisborne. He huffed angrily.

"They are foolish thinking that you would betray them. Your father sounds like a good man who was framed." I nodded.

"He is." I filled my mug with some more mint tea and sighed.

"I don't know how I will ever earn anyone's trust back if they all think I tried to get Harry or Ron murdered by my father." I sipped my tea and shivered. "Even the twins aren't talking to me. You should have seen the look Fred gave me yesterday. Like I had threatened him with a knife."

"They will find out the truth and it will be okay."

"This year has had so many twists and turns and I'm tired of it."

I was sitting with Neville in a group of people at the table. Everyone was ignoring us but at least they didn't move when we sat down like we had the plague. Everyone was back to talking to Neville but very few people didn't look at me suspiciously. A scarlet envelope dropped in front of him and everyone stopped.

"Neville, run." Harry said but Neville was already off. I was on his heels and the Slytherin table burst out in laughter. I threw a handful of fireworks at them and they zoomed around scaring the whole table but not touching them.

Neville had made it outside the school but only just before his Gran's voice erupted with a mighty fury.

I held his hand as his grandmother called him a disgrace and berated him with the punishments he would get when he got home after the term. Finally the letter ripped itself up and I hugged him.

"You are kind, and smart, and important, you are not a disgrace, you just aren't as good at magic but you're a right ringer in herbology. I bet you could even be a professor here someday. People are good at different things, Nev, don't let anyone tell you that you aren't useful." He nodded and I touched his cheek. "You good? I'm starving still."

I was sitting in Hagrid's hut with Harry and Ron. Ron acted cold towards me and Harry acted like he could barely stand me.

Hagrid looked at the icy atmosphere between the three of us.

"First you hurt Hermione's feelings when all she's done is try and help you two. Now you are acting like Nora's your enemy, what's going on?" I looked at my quilt and picked a loose thread.

"Sirius Black was in the Gryffindor house and Nora let him in." Ron said quietly.

I growled. "I did not. Why would I?"

"Because he's your dad and you'd do anything to help him." I looked up and glared at him.

"If I wanted you dead, Weasley, you'd be dead." I stood up. "I did not let him in and Neville did not lose his passwords, they were stolen. Stop acting like I'm a bloody criminal. Tell your stupid brothers the same because I'm tired of them acting like I would hurt you like that." Hagrid frowned at me and I grabbed the door handle.

"Sirius would never hurt you, Harry. He's your godfather for a reason."

I shut the door and Andi landed on my shoulder. I heard a paw pounding the ground. I looked and Sirius's eyes shown in the darkness.

"What do you want? Haven't you messed enough up already? I've lost most of my friends because you had to be dramatic and threaten Ron with a knife, didn't you?" He whined. I stepped closer to him. "I'm so angry at you for taking Neville's passwords, because of you he can't go on the Hogsmead trips anymore. His gran is furious and he's a wreck." He bowed down as I moved closer. "I got in a fight the other day and Remus was the one to tell me I was out of order. I don't hate you, Sirius, but you're a bloody drama queen. Stay out of Hogwarts. If you need something, tell me, I'll get it." He looked up at me with these sad eyes and I sighed. He trotted away a few steps and looked back at me. I shook my head. He whined again and I growled. I transformed into my Wolfhound animagus and trotted after him. When we were far enough into wood my father and I transformed back into humans. I crossed my arms and he tried to smooth down his mad hair but was unsuccessful.

"I'm sorry, Nora, I never meant to muck things up as badly as I did, please, forgive me." He gave me a very sad look.

"You really royally screwed up. What were you even looking for?"

"Ron's rat, he's Peter Pettigrew." My jaw fell open and I shut it quickly.

"What?"

"He was always a coward, even when we were in school and he turned himself into a rat and hid away for thirteen years."

"I'm going to find him and after he clears your name, I'm going turn him over to the dementors."

"I thought for sure you'd say kill him."

"I'm not a killer." He hugged me.

"That's my girl."

I stepped out of one of the secret passages that let out close to the common room and I heard voices. I closed the portrait so I could still hear but not be seen.

"She probably ran away." George said angrily.

"I feel like a real git for being angry at her when we all knew she wouldn't do it." Fred was frustrated.

"I want to tell her sorry and now we can't find her. Everyone's been so horrible to her that she probably ran off to live with that Centaur in the woods."

"Nora would never run away from Harry and Neville like that. She's too good to do that." Fred sat down on a bench and leaned back against the wall. I stepped out and readjusted my rucksack.

"NORA!" both of the twins yelled as they hugged me. I could have cried from relief because they weren't mad anymore.

"Bloody hell you two. Acting like a couple of witch hunters the past few days, you both know I would never hurt Ron." They squeezed my tighter.

"Bang out order we were." George said.

"Never doubt you again," Fred added.


End file.
